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File 1407/1918 'Kowait Trade Reports. (1911-1930)' [‎33r] (70/746)

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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. .

Transcription

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Report on the Trade of Kuwait for the year 1928-29.
{1st April 1928 to 31st March 1929.)
BY
Lieutenant-Colonel H. R. P. Dickson, C.I.E.,
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,
Principality of Kuwait and its inhabitants.
The frontier line of Kuwait is as follows :—
Starting from the Southern portion of Ras al-
Qulai’ah (42 miles from Kuwait), with the town as
centre it describes an arc towards the West until
it intersects 29° latitude, and from this point runs
in a straight line to the Batin, opposite the junc
tion of the Wadi A seasonal or intermittent watercourse, or the valley in which it flows. al-’Aujah with the Batin. The
line then runs Northward along the Batin to a point
just south of the latitude of Safwan : then East
ward, passing just South of Jabal Sanam, Safwan
and Umm Qasr, and so on to the junction of the
Khuwair with the Khaur 'Abjdullah. The territory
enclosed within this line and the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. ,
together with the island of Warbah, Bubiyan,
Maskan, Failakah, ’Auliah, Kubbar and Umm al-
Maradim, is recognised as belonging to Kuwait.
The tract of country bounded on the North by
the Southern portion of the Kuwait frontier as
described above, on the East by the sea, and the
West by the Shaqq, and on the South by the straight
line running due East from the Shaqq through
’Ain al-’Abd to the sea North of Ras al-Mish*ab,°is
recognised as common to the two States of Nejd
and Kuwait, in which both enjoy equal rights.
The Capital itself has a population of about
50,000 souls of whom the greatest majority are
Arabs. The Persian community, however, has
greatly increased in recent years and now consists
of about 10,000 souls. There are over 4,000 Negroes,
a few Jews, and two or three houses of Chatdean
Christians from ’Iraq. Outside the Capital the
inhabitants of the principality are all Arabs, and
are mostly nomads. The only settled villages are
Jahrah, at the head of Kuwait Bay, which has a
population of about 500 souls: Failakah village,
on the island of the same name at the entrance of
Kuwait Bay: with a similar population : smaller
villages of Hawaii, Dimnah, Fantas, Abu Hulaifah,
Fuhaihil and Shu’aibah to the south and south-east
of Kuwait. : r ? • • * * ^
fin# gpt$ A traoieuO
Currency.
Kuwait has no currency of its own Indian
Rupees Indian silver coin also widely used in the Persian Gulf. and smaller coins are used in the town,
and accounts are kept in Indian currency: but
Maria Theresa Dollars are used for all dealings with
the desert. The value of Maria Theresa Dollars
averaged Rupees Indian silver coin also widely used in the Persian Gulf. 127-3-11 per 100 Dollars during
the period under review.
• ^ Convers ' on of the trade figures in this report
is made at the rate of Rs. 15 per £ throughout.
Weights and Measures.
The ordinary unit of weight is the Waqiyah of
which there are three kinds : viz., one of 4 lbs. 10-22
ozs. another of 4 lbs. 15T68 ozs. and a third of 9
lbs. 4-44 ozs. being respectively the weight of 75
80 and 150 Maria Theresa Dollars, on which coin
the Waqiyah is based. The Waqiyah of 4 lbs.
1 o-l68 ozs. is only used by the local Customs for
imports from the desert and that of 9 lbs. 4-44 ozs,,
only for the sale of fish, and beyond this mention
of them no further notice will be taken of thefn here.
The Waqiyah of 4 lbs. I0 f 22 ozs., is used by the
local Customs for sea imports, and is universally
used in the town. A larger weight is the mann 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 us6d 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 morter.
(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 approximately
3,340 lbs., make one Taghar.

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)' [‎33r] (70/746), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/10/738, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100077602989.0x000047> [accessed 29 March 2024]

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