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File 1407/1918 'Kowait Trade Reports. (1911-1930)' [‎10r] (24/746)

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The record is made up of 1 volume (368 folios). It was created in 26 Jun 1912-12 Aug 1931. It was written in English. The original is part of the British Library: India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. Records and Private Papers Documents collected in a private capacity. .

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3
of which there are five distinct varieties, all based
on the Waqiyah of 4 lbs. 10-22 ozs., viz.
(1) The mann of 27 Waqiyahs, or 125 lbs.
3-94 ozs., is the local Customs measure
for weighing goods for assessment of
duty : it is also used in the town for
weighing all commodities for which
there is not a special measure.
(2) The mann of 30 Waqiyahs, or 139 lbs-
3-94 ozs., is used for wheat, barley*
Iraq rice and firewood.
(3) The mann of 24 Waqiyahs, or 55 lbs. 10-64
ozs., is used for sail cloth only.
(4) The mann of 24 Waqiyahs, or 111 lbs. 5-28
ozs., is used for clarified butter, fat, salt
and gypsum mortar.
(5) The mann of 36 Waqiyahs, or 166 lbs.
15-92 ozs., is used for wheat and barley
when imported from Basrah. 20 manns
of the last named variety or ap
proximately 3,340 lbs., make one Taghar.
Firewood is normally sold by the Raja King ' of 4
manns of 30 Waqiyahs or 5,556 lbs. 10-4 ozs.
Gypsum mortar is sold by the karah of 100 manns
of 24 Waqiyahs or 11,135 lbs. The term karah
is also used for date palm branches in which sense
it means 1,000 branches.
Beams and masts are sold by the Calicut Kandy
or 10 cubic feet 29 cubic inches: round rafters or
spars by the Korjah or score and boat ribs by the
gari or cart load of 40 pieces or upward according
to size.
The 4 gallon Kerosine oil tin is used as a measure
of capacity for the sale of water.
Of the smaller weights is the habhah, equivalent
to 3 grains Troy, used in the sale of gold and silver.
Gold is normally sold by the mithqal ’attari of 18
habbahs, or 54 grains, and also by the Turkish pound
and fractions thereof. Silver is sold by the mithqal
Shirazi of 24 habbahs or 72 grains. The mithqal
’attari and the mithqal Shirazi are also both used
for drugs and silk thread : but for this purpose they
are not divided into habbahs, but only into halves
and quarters, the niceties of weight being arrived
at using the two mithqals and their fractions in con-
jection. Perfumes as also gold thread, are sold by
the tolah of 180 grains.
In the pearl trade the following weights and
measures are most commonly used in Kuwait.
Wholesale purchase of pearls from the Captains of
pearling boats are made chiefly by size. For this
purpose, after any exceptionally good pearls, which
it is desired to dispose of separately, have been
removed, remainder are assorted by being passed
through a series of perforated brass or copper bowls,
the standard set of which consists of four : the
perforations of the largest, called ras are -18* in
diameter: those of the second batn -15"; those of
the third, dhail -13", and those of fourth rabi'ah
•11". After being assorted into ras, batn, etc., they
change hands at a previously arranged rate, at
so much the mithqal ’Arabi, which is equivalent
to 50 grains. The ordinary pearls then usually
pass from one dealer to another on the more precise
kind of estimate based upon weight. In Kuwait
the Bombay mithqal equivalent to 75 grains Troy,
and sub-divided into 24 rattis each of 15 anahs, is
usually employed. The unit in the dealer s system
is called a chau, and although derived from a weight,
it is not in itself a weight. The number of chaus
in a pearl is found by squaring the weight of the
pearl in mithqals and multiplying the result by 330.
The chau is divisible into 100 dukrahs, and the
dukrah into 100 badams. There are other kind of
chau also occasionally used, and obtained by an
identical process from other mithqals, such as the
Poona mithqal of 68 grains.
The normal unit of length is the dhira or cubit
of 19", but for rope, which is also sold by the weight,
the ba’ or fathom is usually employed. There is
no square measure in use : and a plot of ground
is described as being so many dhira’s according to
the sum of its sides.
The Year 1929-30.
This year was also not a favourable one for
trade as there was still no trade with Nejd. Although
both the Imports and Exports, in very few cases,
show slight increases over last year’s figures, a
considerable quantity of the imported goods re
mained unsold. This was mainly due to the Akhwan
rebellion against His Majesty King Bin baud in
North-East Arabia when at the instance of His
Majesty’s Government a strict blockade was de
clared against the rebellious tribes by the Shaikh
of Kuwait, and all the supplies to the Mutair and
Ajman confederations were cut off. The continued
prohibition of trade between Kuwait and the in
terior towns of Nejd by His Majesty King Bin Saud
in spite of the assistance given him during the
rebellion by Kuwait and perhaps also the increased
efficiency of the Persian Preventive Service, which
has entirely stopped the smuggling of tea,
sugar and other commodities was the cause of a
further slump in Kuwait trade. Consequently
many petty shopkeepers have left for Bahrain,
Jubail and Qatif to seek employment, and since the
“ Abba Movement ” or giving up of the Arab Cloaks
by many of the citizens, a good number of the
“ Abba-makers ” have left for Bahrain and other
Arab Coast towns. The pearl ‘ catch on the
whole was good but the pearl market remained so
low that good pearls could be purchased for half
the price of the previous year. On the arrival
of the well known Paris Pearl merchant Mon-

About this item

Content

The volume comprises telegrams, despatches, correspondence, memoranda, and notes relating to the Kuwait trade reports for the years 1912-1930.

The printed reports cover the period 1 April to 31 March and follow a similar format: a general narrative and sections on imports, exports, customs administration and lighterage, freight, shipping and navigation, sea fisheries, boat building, labour, minerals, domestic animals, agriculture, rainfall, public health, exchange rates and weights.

Also included are statistical tables showing total imports and total exports by country. Further tables show total imports and exports of principal articles and by sailing craft and steamers and by quantity and value.

Principal articles listed for imports include anchors, animals, arms and ammunition, barley, bamboos, cars, carpets, building materials, charcoal, coal, fruits, firewood, furniture, glass, goat hair, gunny bags, ironware, marine stores, oil products, petroleum, potatoes, rice, sail cloth, tobacco, and wood.

Tables for export of principal articles (by buggalows and steamers) list the item and the country to which it is exported. These include animals (to India), barley (to Muscat and Germany), and shark-fins (to India). Export destinations listed include India, Bahrain, Muscat, Germany, the Persian Coast, and Turkish Arabia A term used by the British officials to describe the territory roughly corresponding to, but not coextensive with, modern-day Iraq under the control of the Ottoman Empire. .

Many of the reports include a map of Kuwait (folios 32, 54, 76, 95, 117, 145, 161, and 198).

The report is sent by the Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. , Kuwait, to the Secretary to the Government of India in the Foreign Department and then forwarded to the Permanent-Secretary, Political Department, India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. , London. Covering minute papers of the Secret Department note the year of the report and sometimes also give a viewpoint.

The volume includes a divider which gives the subject number, the year the subject file was opened, the subject heading, and a list of correspondence references by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence.

Extent and format
1 volume (368 folios)
Arrangement

The papers are arranged in approximate chronological order from the rear to the front of the volume.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 370; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. side of each folio.

Written in
English in Latin script
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File 1407/1918 'Kowait Trade Reports. (1911-1930)' [‎10r] (24/746), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/10/738, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100077602989.0x000019> [accessed 29 March 2024]

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