Abstract: The volume contains correspondence related to Kuwait-Iraq smuggling. British officials discuss the Iraqi Government’s proposal to the Kuwaiti Government for cooperation to help control smuggling between the two countries. They also discuss the conditions under which permission is given to ship goods between the two countries, the fines that are to be imposed on the boats charged with smuggling, and monitoring the territorial waters, Shat al-Arab in particular.The volume also contains correspondence related to the firing on and seizure of a Kuwaiti jollyboat by a Fao customs launch near Bubiyan Island, and the seizure of three Iraqi ballams (small boats) by the Kuwaiti customs authorities.The volume also contains a confidential report prepared by the Political Agent in Kuwait under the title ‘Kuwait note on the contraband problem of Iraq with her neighbours and in particular how it affects Kuwait’.The main correspondents in the volume are the Political Agency, Kuwait, the Political Residency, Bushire, the British Embassy, Baghdad, the Iraqi Ministry for Foreign Affairs, the Mutassarif of Basra Liwa, the Hakim of Kuwait as well as Customs departments in Kuwait and Iraq.Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the inside front cover with 1 and terminates at the inside back cover with 220; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.Additional foliation sequences are present in parallel between ff 4-215; these numbers are also written in pencil, but, where circled, are crossed through.
Abstract: The volume contains correspondence related to the date gardens owned by the Shaikh of Kuwait, Aḥmad al-Jābir Āl Ṣabāḥ, and the Shaikh of Mohammerah, Khaz'al al-Ka'bi, in southern Iraq. In particular, the correspondence concerns the Government of Iraq's intention to end the immunity from taxation (on the gardens) that had been granted to the former ruler of Kuwait, Shaikh Mubārak Āl Ṣabāḥ, and the Shaikh of Mohammerah by the British Government in return for their military support against the Ottoman Empire in the First World War. The volume contains letters (ff 16-20), dated November 1914, from the British Resident and Consulate-General, Bushire, Persian Gulf, to both shaikhs in respect to this issue. The volume also contains correspondence between British officials discussing the British Government's obligations to Kuwait and how it should react to the Government of Iraq's plans.The Iraq Government had considered and continues to consider that the exemption from taxation is illegal. This issue was discussed in an extract of an article that appeared in
Al-Iraqnewspaper and published in 1927, in which the writer gives the exact amount (12.000 Turkish gold liras per year, or 100.000 in the past 7 years) Iraq was losing annually as a result of the exemption from taxes granted to the two shaikhs.The British officials had direct correspondence with the Council of Ministers, Iraq. They conveyed the British Government’s approval to the Government of Iraq to open up direct negotiations with the Shaikhs of Kuwait and Mohammerah regarding their revenue exemptions. Correspondence between the High Commissioner, Baghdad, and the Government of Iraq were made as early as 1924 in regard to the issue. The correspondence between the British officials includes articles of the Anglo-Iraq Treaties as well as reports prepared by the Law Officer of the Crown, Downing Street (ff 116-123).The volume also contains correspondence between Sayid Hamid Bey Al-Naqib, Basra Deputy to the Ruler of Kuwait, and Shaikh Aḥmad al-Jābir conveying to him the procedures taking place in Iraq regarding his date gardens. Al-Naqib also paid visits to the Shaikh on behalf of the Government of Iraq. The volume also includes statements of the properties of both Shaikhs between the years 1914-1928.Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the inside front cover with 1 and terminates at the inside back cover with 318; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.Additional foliation sequences are present in parallel between ff 4-313; these numbers are also written in pencil but, where circled, are crossed through.
Abstract: The volume contains correspondence related to the date gardens owned by the Shaikh of Kuwait, Aḥmad al-Jābir Āl Ṣabāḥ, and the Shaikh of Mohammerah, Khaz'al al-Ka'bi, in southern Iraq. In particular, the correspondence concerns the Government of Iraq's intention to end the immunity from taxation (on the gardens) that had been granted to the former ruler of Kuwait, Shaikh Mubārak Āl Ṣabāḥ, and the Shaikh of Mohammerah by the British Government in return for their military support against the Ottoman Empire in the First World War.The correspondence is mainly between British officials discussing the possible solutions to the gardens taxation issue. Among the suggested solutions was the selling of the property. British officials report that the Shaikh of Kuwait is entirely flexible in regards to the selling of certain estates but not the ones in Al-Faw. But they also suggested that it would be rather useless for the Iraq Government to attempt to purchase the gardens as they belong to more than a hundred relatives of the Shaikh who depend on the produce for their maintenance.The volume includes statements of an estimated value of the Shaikh of Kuwait’s estates on Shatt al-Arab. It also contains economic reports on the proposed new basis of taxation on agricultural produce in Iraq, and copies of the Government of Iraq’s new laws for the collection of consumption (
Istihlak) tax and for the collection of land rent and water rent (ff 79-101). The correspondence also includes records of meetings held in London in regard to the question of the taxations as well as the new system of land revenue collections in Iraq.The main correspondence is between the British Resident, Bushire, the Political Agent, Kuwait, the High Commissioner, Baghdad, and the Colonial Office, Downing Street, London.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 222; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. Two additional foliation sequences are present in parallel; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled. One of these additional sequences has been crossed out.
Abstract: The volume contains correspondence related to the date gardens owned by the Shaikh of Kuwait, Aḥmad al-Jābir Āl Ṣabāḥ, and the Shaikh of Mohammerah, Khaz'al al-Ka'bi, in southern Iraq. A particular taxation system called
Istihlak(consumption) tax has been imposed by the Iraqi Government on the produce of the gardens. British Officials discuss payment of export duty on garden produce from the Shaikh of Kuwait’s gardens in Iraq, and the allegations made by the Shaikh of Kuwait against the customs authorities at Faw.The British Ambassador in Baghdad reports that because of the enforcement of the new tax law, the Iraqi Government is no longer able to make exempt from taxes the Shaikh‘s gardens' produce that has been exported from Iraq for the personal use of the Shaikh.The volume includes a copy of minutes of a conference on the Shaikh’s date gardens held in Baghdad and minutes of an interdepartmental meeting held in London in regards to the gardens issue.The Political Agent, Kuwait, asks the Shaikh of Kuwait to provide full and detailed statements showing all payments and losses resulting from the imposition of Istihlak tax by the Iraqi Government. The Shaikh in turn provides six statements (ff 194-221):Statement I. Showing the amount levied as
Istihlaktax from merchants purchasing and exporting dates in 1932.Statement II. Showing the amount levied as
Istihlaktax from merchants purchasing and exporting dates in 1933.Statement III. Showing the amount levied from the Shaikh as
Istihlaktax and under the heading 'Customs duties' on articles exported for the Shaikh’s private consumption.Statement IV. Showing the quantities of dates which the Shaikh was obliged to surrender from his own share to the
fellaheen(peasants) working in his gardens under the
Istihlaktax.Statement V. Showing the losses sustained by the Shaikh as a result of the disobedience of the
fellaheendue to the introduction of the
Istihlaktax.Statement VI. Showing the grand total of the above lists.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 227; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. Two additional foliation sequences are present in parallel between ff 6-222; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled.
Abstract: The file contains correspondence related to a court suit raised in Basra Court by Rafiyaa bint Ali al-Zuhair and other members of al-Zuhair family complaining against the Ruler of Kuwait. The suit in question concerns a portion of the Shaikh’s Faddaghiya estate on Shatt al-Arab, and the Bashiya land to which members of al-Zuhair family lay claim to. The Secretariat of the High Commissioner for Iraq passes the case to the Political Agent, Kuwait, upon the request of the Iraq Ministry of Justice. In turn, the Political Agent passes the case to the Shaikh of Kuwait and to the Political Resident, Bushire.The correspondence includes a report (ff 26-50) with full details related to the Shaikh’s Faddaghiya estate in Iraq, accompanied by two attachments. The first attachment includes communications with Abdul Aziz al-Salim Al-Badr, the Shaikh’s agent in Basra who provided the Agency with details of the way by which Faddaghiya estate had been bought by Shaikh Mubarak in 1908. The second attachment includes the correspondence with Mirza Muhammad, agent in Iraq to Shaikh Khaz'al, recommending two lawyers, Messrs Jacob Gabriel and Arteen, to help the Shaikh with the case. The Political Agent, Kuwait, also sent two short histories of the Bashiya and Faddaghiya estates (ff 88-96) to the Political Resident, Bushire. According to the reports, the Faddaghiya estate was owned by Aisha, wife of Ahmad Pasha Al-Zuhair. Ahmad Pasha sold the estate to Shaikh Mubarak of Kuwait although he did not hold a Power of Attorney from his wife at the time of the sale.Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 158; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. An additional foliation sequence is present in parallel between ff 6-153; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled.
Abstract: The volume contains correspondence related to the date gardens owned by the Shaikh of Kuwait, Aḥmad al-Jābir Āl Ṣabāḥ, in southern Iraq. In particular, the correspondence concerns the court suit raised in Basra Court by members of al-Zuhair family complaining against the Ruler of Kuwait. The suit in question concerns a portion of the Shaikh’s Faddaghiya estate on Shatt al-Arab, and the Bashiya land to which members of al-Zuhair family lays claim to. According to the reports, the Faddaghiya estate was owned by Aisha, wife of Ahmad Pasha Al-Zuhair. Ahmad Pasha sold the estate to Shaikh Mubarak of Kuwait although he did not hold a Power of Attorney from his wife at the time of the sale, in 1914.The Iraqi Government had requested via the British Embassy, Baghdad, for the Shaikh of Kuwait to submit to the Basra Court certain documents related to the case including a copy of Power of Attorney to prove the right of Ahmad Pasha Al-Zuhair to proceed with the selling.The volume includes a sketch map of the Faddaghiya estate with explanatory notes (ff 94-97). It also includes minutes of a meeting which was held at the Foreign Office in London to discuss issues related to the date gardens and the court suits. The correspondence contains reports that the
fellaheenon the Faw estate have started refusing to pay rent and were committing acts of sabotage. The Shaikh in turn argued that the British Government’s procrastination had caused him further troubles. Among the correspondents in the volume are the Political Resident, Bushire, and the Political Agent, Kuwait.The volume’s core correspondence covers the years 1932 and 1933. The earlier start date given to the volume is a result of correspondence between Sir Henry Dobbs, Revenue Commissioner, Basra, and Abdul Aziz al-Salim Al-Badr, Agent of the Shaikh of Kuwait in Basra (ff 23-25), which is dated 14 June 1915. The correspondence includes the details of the Tapu dead registration granted to the Shaikh of Kuwait.Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 208; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. Two additional foliation sequences are also present in parallel between ff 6-203, and ff 139-203; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled.
Abstract: The volume contains correspondence related to the date gardens owned by the Shaikh of Kuwait, Aḥmad al-Jābir Āl Ṣabāḥ, in southern Iraq. In particular, the correspondence concerns the court suit raised in Basra Court by members of al-Zuhair family complaining against the Ruler of Kuwait. The suit in question concerns a portion of the Shaikh’s Faddaghiya estate on Shatt al-Arab, and the Bashiya land to which members of al-Zuhair family lays claim to. According to the reports, the Faddaghiya estate was owned by Aisha, wife of Ahmad Pasha Al-Zuhair, and she has given her husband a Power of Attorney to sell the land.In the volume, British officials discuss issues related to the land registration granted to the Shaikh by Sir Henry Dobbs, Revenue Commissioner, Basra, in 1915, and the importance of obtaining an original copy of the claimed Power of Attorney authorising the sale of the land by Ahmed Pasha al-Zuhair. British officials correspond with the Shaikh and his lawyer, Jacob Gabriel, asking them to prepare certain documents, including a list of the names of the legal living heirs of Ahmed Pasha al-Zuhair, an original Turkish copy of the Power of Attorney, and translated copies of the document both in Arabic and English.The volume includes notes of meetings held in Baghdad between British officials discussing the cases. It also includes copies of the four Tapu title deeds (ff 55-64) connected with the Shaikh of Kuwait’s Faddaghiya estate dispute, dated 1915. The volume also includes reports on agrarian troubles caused by the
fellaheenon the Shaikh’s Faw estates.The main correspondence in the volume is between the Political Resident, Bushire, the Political Agent, Kuwait, British Ambassador, Baghdad, the India Office, London, the Foreign Office, London, the Ruler of Kuwait and Jacob Gabriel, the Shaikh’s Agent in Basra.The volume’s core correspondence covers June- October 1933. The earlier start date given to the volume is a result of correspondence by Jacob Gabriel (f 153), which is dated 20 November 1909. The correspondence includes a certificate from a school where he was a pupil. Jacob Gabriel provides testimonies and letters from previous places and people he worked with to prove his ability to take the Shaikh’s case on.Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 207; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. Three additional foliation sequences are also present in parallel between ff 6-202, ff 42-127, and ff 176-202; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled.
Abstract: This file relates to several cases of robbery, which have reportedly been committed by Persian subjects (referred to in the file as pirates) in the Shatt-al-Arab, against Kuwaiti sailing boats, including those belonging to the Kuwait Water Supply Company.The file includes copies of correspondence from other British officials, including a letter, dated 22 January 1945, from the British Embassy, Baghdad, to the Iraqi Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in which a request is made on behalf of the Government of Kuwait for steps to be taken to improve the security of the Shatt-al-Arab (since the attacks have taken place in waters policed by the Iraqi authorities). Elsewhere in the file, the Ruler of Kuwait, Shaikh Ahmad al Jabir As-Subah [Shaikh Aḥmad al-Jābir Āl Ṣabāḥ], asks the Political Agent at Kuwait to request that the Iraqi Government permit all Kuwaiti sailing craft the right to carry arms for self-defence.In a copy of a letter, dated 2 February 1945 and addressed to His Majesty's Ambassador, Tehran, the British Consul at Khorramshahr, Andrew Charles Stewart, suggests that the robberies will never be completely suppressed unless the British military authorities permit the Persians the freedom to maintain and operate a small, permanent garrison in the northern half of Abadan.Other correspondents in the file include the following: the Political Agent, Kuwait; the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf; the Senior Naval Officer, Persian Gulf; the Mutassarif [Mutasarrif] of Basrah Liwa, Basrah; the Iraqi Ministry of Foreign Affairs.Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 88; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. Additional foliation sequences are present in parallel between ff 2-28 and ff 29-87; these numbers are written in pencil and coloured pencil, but are not circled, and some have been crossed out. A previous foliation sequence between ff 1-88, which is written in pencil and circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.
Abstract: Distinctive Features:Title continues: ‘ON WHICH I HAVE MARKED THE BAGDAD RAILWAY MATERIAL DEPÔT IN RED INK’. Rough plan showing Basra and environs with the location of German Depot and Customs indicated. British Consulate’s coordinates reported.In the bottom left-hand corner printed: ‘S.D.O. No. 605. Dec. 1912’.Physical description: Dimensions:345 x 210 mm
Abstract: This item comprises a copy of an enclosure to a despatch from the Government of Bombay Secret Department to the Secret Committee, Number 9 of 1847, dated 25 January 1847. The enclosure is dated 14 November 1846.The item comprises copies of despatches forwarded, for the information of the Government of Bombay and the Governor-General of India, by Lieutenant-Colonel Justin Sheil, HM Envoy and Minister Plenipotentiary at the Court of Persia [Iran], to Viscount Palmerston, HM Principal Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, with relevant enclosures.The papers cover the following matters:The assumption by Hajee Meerza Aghasee, [Ḥājī Mīrzā Āqāsī], Prime Minister to the Shah of Persia, of the office and duties of Minister of Foreign Affairs and concentration ‘in his own person the entire functions of Government’ (f 103)A scheme proposed by the Assof-ood Dawleh [Āṣaf al-Dawlah] of Herat and the Governor of Khorassan to replace the current ruler of Herat (Yah Mahomed Khan [Yār Muḥammad Khān ‘Alī Kūzāy]) with Shah Passend Khan [Shāh Pasand Khān], Sheil’s strong rejection of the proposal, the refusal of Hajee Meerza Aghassee to support it since it would aggrandize the Government of Khorassan [Khorasan], the apparent concern of Yar Mahomed’s followers, and the purported wish of Yar Mahomed to have a British Agent at Herat as a defence against the Assof-ood Dawleh’s ‘plots’ and the Persian GovernmentSheil’s scepticism with regard to the claims made by Cazee Mahomed Hassan [Qāḍī Muḥammad Ḥasan], based on the enquiries he made (on Sheil’s behalf) during a trip to Khiva, about the fate of a certain ‘Hajee Ahmed Ahmed Arab’ (f 109) said to be the missing Englishman Mr Wyburd [Lieutenant William Henry Wybard] and also about another English man and woman reportedly held captive in Khiva, and Sheil’s opinion that the Cazee’s true motive was employment by the British GovernmentThe report by Cazee Mahomed Hassan, recently returned from Khiva, that the Khan of Khiva is concerned about Russian progress towards his territory, advancing, he believes, from their fort at Minkishlak [Mangyshlak], near the Caspian Sea, and Sheil’s consideration that despite his doubts about the Cazee’s general truthfulness, the report may well be trueThe refusal of Hajee Meerza Aghassee to accede to the demands of Prince Dolgorouki [Prince Dimitri Ivanovich Dolgorukov], Russian Minister in Tehran, for Persia to allow Russian ships of war into the Persian harbours in the Caspian Sea, especially Asterabad [Gorgon], and Sheil’s opinion that a peremptory refusal will elicit a very strong response from Russia. Included is a copy of Hajee Meerza Aghassee’s letter to Dolgorouki stating that the requests are contrary to Persia’s treaty with Russia (f 114-116)Reports of the Persian Government’s plans to send a large force to the disordered province of Khorassan, and Sheil’s opinion that the reasons are: to overthrow the Asaf-ood-Dowlah [Āṣaf al-Dawlah] whose power and reputation have ‘reached a height displeasing to the Shah and insupportable to his rival the Prime Minister’ (f 117); to quash Jafer Koolee Khan of Boojnoord [Jaʿfar Qulī Khān of Bojnord], a powerful ‘chief’ obedient to the Governor of Khorassan instead of the Shah, and a possible ally of Russia; and events rendering north eastern Persia vulnerable to Tekeh [Teke] and Goklan Toorkomans [people of Turkmenistan]Sheil’s communications to Lieutenant-Colonel Williams, British Commissioner at Erzeroom [Erzurum], and Hajee Meerza Aghassee, regarding finalization of the draft Treaty between Turkey [Ottoman Empire] and Persia, including: the Aghassee’s complaints that the Turkish guard ship in the Shat-al-Arab [Shatt al-Arab River] is preventing (Persian) merchant vessels from entering the port of Mohemmera [Khorramshahr, formerly Mohammerah] and diverting them to Bussorah [Basra] where they have to pay custom dues; and Sheil’s suspicion that his copy of the draft Treaty was purposely delayed by the Russian courier from Erzeroom.Physical description: 1 item (27 folios)
Abstract: The file concerns the drafting of a convention to establish a Conservancy Board for the Shatt-el-Arab (also referred to as the Shatt-al-Arab).The papers include: negotiations with the governments of Iraq and Persia [Iran]; the involvement of British shipowners in discussions; numerous drafts of the convention; the selection of Colonel John Ward, Port Director of the Port of Basrah [Basra], as British appointee to the Board (folio 450); the question of dues on shipping; comments by the Admiralty; involvement of the Anglo-Persian Oil Company (APOC); budget estimates for the Port of Basra; printed Port of Basra 'Schedule of Dues and Charges', 1935 (folios 244-272); papers on customs, quarantine, and police arrangements for the Shatt-al-Arab; Perso-Iraqi frontier negotiations; memorandum of instructions for the guidance of the British representatives in the negotiations for the conclusion of the convention, 1935 (folios 66-78); the proposed convention (folios 51-60); Ministry of Health paper on the transfer of quarantine arrangements in the Shatt-al-Arab to the Conservancy Board; and the agreement of the Iraqi Government to British participation in the convention (folios 6-9).The principal correspondents are the Foreign Office, HM Ambassador at Bagdad, HM Minister at Tehran, and the Mercantile Marine Department, Board of Trade.The French language content of the file consists of a single item of correspondence (folio 132).The file includes a divider, which gives a list of correspondence references contained in the file by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 594; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.
Abstract: The file concerns negotiations over a convention to establish a Conservancy Board for the Shatt-el-Arab (also referred to as the Shatt-al-Arab) between the governments of Iraq, Iran (also referred to as Persia), and the United Kingdom.The convention had two main objects: (1) to provide for the conservancy of the Shatt-al-Arab (i.e. its maintenance as a navigable waterway adequate to the needs of international shipping); (2) to control the navigation of the Shatt-al-Arab (i.e. to provide all shipping using the waterway with a uniform system of control, administration, and discipline in all matters necessary for safe and efficient shipping). The board was to consist of Iraq and Iran as the two riparian countries concerned, and the United Kingdom as the state owning over 90 per cent of the shipping using the river.The papers cover: Perso-Iraqi negotiations; the question of British participation in the convention; the views of the Shah of Iran; negotiations over the frontier between Iraq and Iran; dredging dues; the navigation of the river; Persian violations of Iraqi territory; the anchorage at Abadan; draft agreements on the frontier between Iraq and Iran; the Persian refusal to allow Iraq any say over the waters (the Karun) that flowed into the Shatt-al-Arab (e.g. folios 262-264); the interests of the Government of Turkey in the issue; the view of the Foreign Office that a single authority was required in order to achieve unified control over the whole waterway system (folios 245-246); quarantine and police posts; and the Port of Basra (budget estimates, and dues and charges).The main correspondents are the Foreign Office, the British Ambassador to Iraq, and HM Minister, Tehran.The French language content of the file consists of approximately ten folios of diplomatic correspondence and treaty drafts.The file includes a divider, which gives a list of correspondence references contained in the file by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description commences at the first folio with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 464; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. The front and back covers, along with the two leading and two ending flyleaves have not been foliated. A previous foliation sequence, which is present between ff 291-464 and is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.