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 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. The correspondence is mainly about the taxation imposed on the gardens by the Iraqi Government.British officials discuss statements of claims which cover the years 1932 and 1933, and which were submitted by the Shaikh of Kuwait and by Mirza Muhammad, Agent in Iraq to Shaikh Khaz'al, in respect of the losses both shaikhs suffered because of the imposition of the taxation system called
Istihlak(consumption) tax. The shaikhs claim that the Iraqi Government has imposed the
Istihlaktax system despite the fact that the gardens were exempted from taxations for the years 1932-1933.The volume contains statements on taxation paid on the Shaikh of Kuwait’s estates in Iraq for the years 1934-1937. These statements are in Arabic and English and they were distributed among the Political Agency, Kuwait, and the Residency, Bushire. The volume also contains a report (ff 81-90) of the administration and management of the properties of the Ruler of Kuwait in the years 1933-1934 sent by the Shaikh’s general agent, Jacob Gabriel, to the Political Agent, Kuwait.The volume also contains correspondence between British officials discussing the question of compensation for the loss of income from the date gardens in Iraq belonging to the late Shaikh Khaz‘al, and the British Government’s decision to treat his heirs with the same level of respect.The main correspondence is between the Political Resident, Bushire, the Political Agent, Kuwait, British Ambassador, Baghdad, the India Office, London, the Foreign Office, London and the Ruler of Kuwait.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 271; 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 150-266; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled. A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.
Abstract: This item comprises printed Foreign Office correspondence relating to Persia [Iran], covering geopolitical, political, economic, social and cultural matters. The despatches are dated 7 July 1897-22 September 1898.The first page of each despatch includes the heading ‘ASIA. CONFIDENTIAL.’ on the top left, and the day and month of the despatch in square brackets on the top right e.g. ‘[July 7.]’. The letters in each despatch are numbered, e.g. No. 1, followed, where relevant, by numbered enclosures (spelled ‘inclosure’ in the volume), e.g. ‘Inclosure in No. 1.’ or ‘Inclosure 1 in No. 2.’. A few of the letters from Charles Hardinge, First Secretary, Tehran, to Persian Government ministers are in French.The item notably covers and includes:The financial difficulties of the Persian Government including: negotiations for foreign loans to the Persian Government, notably a proposed loan of forty million francs by Messrs Solomon Oppenheim of Paris and Cologne on the security of the customs revenues of the southern ports of Persia, and proposed Russian loans (including a copy of a draft agreement, in French, presented to the Persian Government by the Russian Legation, ff 375-376); and loans negotiated with the Imperial Bank of Persia, notably a loan of fifty-thousand pounds secured by control of the customs revenue of Bushire [Bushehr] and KermanshahAffairs relating to the Persian Mint and its relations with the Imperial Bank of PersiaThe murder of Mr Graves, a commissioned officer of the Indo-European Telegraph Department, at Karwan in southern Persia, the indemnity demanded from the Persian Government by the British Government, measures taken for the arrest and punishment of the murderers, and arrangements for the future protection of the telegraph line and company employeesFactionalism, internecine strife, and changes in personnel within the Persian Government and Cabinet, including the dismissal of the Sadr-i-Azam [Ṣadr A‘ẓam, Prime Minister] in June 1898The assassination of Sheikh Mizal [Shaikh Miz’al Khān], Governor of Muhammerah [Khorramshahr, formerly Mohammerah], and recognition of Sheikh Khazal [Shaikh Khas’al bin Jābir bin Mirdāw al-Ka’bī, also spelled Khasal in this item] as the new GovernorAn attack on Koweit [Kuwait] by the Persian Sheikh Yussuf Ibrahim [Shaikh Yūsuf Ibrāhīm]The state of affairs in Azerbaijan and TabrizThe state of affairs in Persian Beluchistan [Balochistan]Rumours of a raid by members of the Shahsavend [Shahsavan] tribe into Russian territory allegedly killing twenty-five CossacksConstruction of the (Gulf of) Enzeli-Kazvin Road [Bandar-e Anzali-Qazvin], involving a concession by the Persian Government to the Russian Insurance and Transport CompanyRusso-Persian relations notably following the Russian doctors and Cossack escort forced upon the Persian Government against their willMilitary news and reportsThe persecution of Jews in Ispahan [Isfahan] and in Lar, including British official protests and concern to protect British Jews at those placesDisturbances at Charbar [Chabahar] and Jask and the deputation of (British) Indian troops to those placesThe construction of a road from Ahwaz [Ahvaz] to Ispahan and from Shuster [Shushtar] to Ispahan, and agreement of Messrs Lynch Brothers with Ali Guli Khan [Alī -Qulī Khān Sirdār Asad Bakhtiyārī] and others (ff 310-311), guaranteed by the Persian GovernmentA report by HM Consul in Ispahan on his journey to Kermanshah and Tehran, in connection with the question of the disputed properties of the British Agent at Kermanshah (ff 325-327)A report by Captain G S Elliot, HM Vice-Consul at Van, of a journey across the Persian frontier and reporting generally on state of affairs on both sides of the [Persian and Turkish] border (ff 362-368), notably covering the activities of Armenians in Van, and the Russian Mission to Nestorian Christians in Urumiah [Urmia or Orumiyeh]An insurrection in Yemen and the deployment of five to six thousand Ottoman troops to repress itA report of a journey across a part of Persian Baluchistan [Balochistan] by Captain Percy Molesworth Sykes (ff 400-401).The primary correspondents are: the Marquess of Salisbury, Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary; Charles Hardinge, First Secretary, Tehran; Sir Philip Currie, Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire; Sir Henry Mortimer Durand, Minister Plenipotentiary at Tehran; the Imperial Bank of Persia; the India Office; and the Foreign Office. Enclosures are chiefly: correspondence of British diplomatic officials in the Middle East, notably William Loch, Consul-General at Bagdad [Baghdad]; reports and monthly summaries from Lieutenant-Colonel Henry Philip Picot, Military Attaché at Tehran; and occasional letters from Persian Government ministers.Physical description: 1 volume (215 folios)
Abstract: The item contains correspondence and other papers regarding the protection of oilfields in Arabistan, Persia [the southern part of Khuzestan Province, Iran] run by the Anglo-Persian Oil Company (APOC). Topics discussed include:The withdrawal of a British military unit from Ahwaz [Ahvaz] following the end of the First World WarThe reliance for protection of the oilfields on continued friendly relations with the Sheikh [Shaikh] of Mohammerah [Khorramshahr] and the Bakhtiari [Bakhtiyari] people, and considerations that these relations could be adversely influenced by the Soviet Union or by any attempt by the Government of Persia to assert more direct control over the areaPotential creation of a ‘volunteer defence force’ made up of APOC employees, and discussions over how the Government of Persia would react to such a forcePossible availability of British troops in Iraq for protection of the oilfields in an emergency, and discussion of the technicalities of requesting and providing such assistance.The primary correspondents are: the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf; HM Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to Persia; the Foreign Office; the India Office; the Colonial Office; the Air Ministry; the Committee of Imperial Defence; the Government of India; Air Headquarters, Iraq; the British Consul, Ahwaz; the British Consul, Baghdad; and APOC Ltd.Physical description: 1 item (161 folios)
Abstract: This file contains a British Government report (folios 1-19) regarding promises made by the British in 1914 to the rulers of Kuwait and Mohammerah concerning their ownership of date gardens in Iraq.The report contains a description of the situation and the legal opinion of T W H Inskip and F B Merriman, Law Officers of the Crown. The report includes an appendix containing copies of a number of relevant memorandums and letters.The file also contains an undated report (folios 20-35) entitled 'The Date Gardens in Iraq of the Sheikhs of Koweit and Mohammerah' that provides a detailed historical summary of the case.Physical description: Foliation: The foliation sequence commences at the first folio of the former and terminates at the last folio of the latter; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.Pagination: Each section of the file also contains an original and distinct pagination sequence.
Abstract: The file comprises telegrams, despatches, correspondence, memoranda, and notes, relating to the welfare of the relations of the late Shaikh of Mohammerah as well as the activities of Shaikh Chasib, eldest son of the late Shaikh of Mohammerah (Shaikh Abduallah Khazal).The discussion in the file relates to the guarantee given in a letter (see folios 155 and folio 151) ) by the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf (Stuart George Knox; Percy Zachariah Cox) to the Shaikh of Mohammerah in 1914 shortly before and after the outbreak of war with the Ottoman Empire. The substance of this guarantee was that if the Shaikh cooperated with the Amir of Najd and the Shaikh of Kuwait in the capture of Basra from the Ottoman Turks, then the Shaikh and his male descendants would be supported against encroachment on his jurisdiction from the Persian government, whether it be royalist or nationalist. Furthermore, his date gardens on the Turkish side of the Shatt al-Arab would remain in the possession of the Shaikh and his heirs and exempt from taxation in perpetuity.Further discussion surrounds the establishment of the genuineness of the letter, as well as the implications for the British government of admitting this claim for protection and what measures could be taken to enforce it. Also discussed is the attempt by the Shaikh to foment rebellion against the Persian Government in Khuzistan and the measures taken by the Iraqi Government to stop this.The principal correspondents in the file include the Political Agent, Kuwait (Major Maurice O'Connor Tandy); the Secretary of State for India, London; HM Ambassador, Tehran; HM Ambassador, Baghdad; and the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.The file include two dividers, which give a list of correspondence references contained in the file by year. These are placed at the back of the correspondence.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 206; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.
Abstract: Enclosure No. 3 to Despatch No. 3 from the Secret Department, Bombay Castle, dated 9 February 1860. The Enclosure is dated 25 November 1859. Received 6 March 1860.The Enclosure consists of despatches from James McAdam Hyslop, Officiating Political Agent in Turkish Arabia, to HBM's Ambassador at Constantinople, concerning the defeat of Hajee [Haji] Sheikh Jaber [Shaikh Jābir bin Mirdāw Āl Ka'bi], Shaikh of Mohumrah [Khorramshahr] by Persian troops; his flight to Turkish territory; and general matters in the region (including the laying of an electric telegraph line from Baghdad).Physical description: 1 item (8 folios)
Abstract: This item comprises one enclosure to a despatch from the Government of Bombay [Mumbai] Secret Department to the Secret Committee [Bombay Secret Letter], No. 16 dated 27 January 1857. The enclosure is also dated 27 January 1857.The enclosure comprises a despatch, dated 22 December 1856, from Captain Arnold Burrowes Kemball, Political Agent in Turkish Arabia [Ottoman Iraq], for the Secretary to the Government of India, Foreign Department, consisting of copies of his two recent despatches to Viscount Stratford de Redcliffe, HM Ambassador at Constantinople [Istanbul], dated 10 and 18 December 1856.The papers cover and include the following:Kemball’s recent visit to Bussorah [Basra] and his opinion that the defences recently constructed by Persia [Iran] at Mohamerah [Khorramshahr, formerly Mohammerah] need not concern the British as there are currently no signs of a Persian intention to disrupt communications in the regionConfirmation that Kemball has secured grain and cattle for fresh meat in expectation of the British expedition in the Persian GulfNotification that, in expectation of an attack in the region by the British, Sheikh Jaber, the principal chief of the Chaab [Banū Ka‘b] tribe [Shaikh Jābir bin Mirdāw al-Ka‘bī, Shaikh of Mohammerah], has approached HM Vice Consul at Bussorah, as well as Kemball, professing support of the British Government and offering his services, whilst at the same time having allegedly also approached the Ottoman Governor in case of a Turkish takeover of MohammerahKemball’s distrust of Sheikh Jaber and the tribes in the area, who he claims would ‘readily join what they believe to be the strongest party’ (f 257)A table entitled ‘Arab Tribes under Persian Authority’, detailing: names of tribes; names of shaikhs; total numbers of men; total numbers of horses, camels, sheep and cows; and any significant additional information (ff 258-259).Physical description: 1 item (10 folios)
Abstract: This volume is a continuation of IOR/L/PS/12/2853. It consists of extensive correspondence, memoranda and reports regarding date garden properties in Iraq owned by the Shaikh of Kuwait, changes to their tax-exempt status, and lawsuits regarding their ownership. Properties owned by the Shaikh of Mohammerah are also discussed in the volume.The volume opens with correspondence regarding a plan to have the lawsuits against the Shaikh of Kuwait dropped, by paying the plaintiffs to desist. Other topics discussed include: a proposal to allow the Iraqi Government to tax the estates, and for HMG to compensate the Shaikhs of Kuwait and Mohammerah accordingly; difficulties in establishing the exact extent of the Iraq properties owned by the Shaikh of Kuwait; an application by the Basra Port Directorate to take possession of certain land belonging to the Fao property of the Shaikh of Kuwait; and suggestions that the Government of Iraq establish a commission to investigate the ownership and tax status of the properties.The principal correspondents and authors are: the High Commissioner for Iraq (Francis Henry Humphrys), the Colonial Office, the Foreign Office, the India Office, the Political Agent, Kuwait (Harold Richard Patrick Dickson), the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf (Hugh Vincent Boscoe), and HM Ambassador to Iraq (Archibald Clark Kerr). The volume also contains translations of letters received from the Shaikh of Kuwait (Aḥmad al-Jābir Āl Ṣabāḥ), his lawyer (Jacob Gabriel), and the Agent in Iraq to the Shaikh of Mohammerah (Shaikh Khaz'al bin Jābir Mirdāw al-Ka'bī).The following reports and legal documents appear within the volume:Statements of losses sustained by the Shaikh of Kuwait through payment of the Istihlak tax, export duty, and compensating tenants during 1932-1933 and 1934, ff 506-530 and 190-196 respectively.Statements of losses sustained by the Shaikh of Mohammerah through payment of the Istihlak tax on his date properties in Iraq, ff 395-397, 399, and 401-403.Details of the garden properties which were in the possession of the Shaikh of Kuwait in 1914, and which were included in HMG's 1914 pledge (Al Mutaawa'ah, Al Faddaghiyeh, Al Farhaniyeh - cum - Kushaishiyeh, Al Fao, and Al 'Ujairawiyeh), ff 348-360.Translation of a letter from Jacob Gabriel to the Mutasarrif of Basra, regarding the Port Directorate application, ff 266-268.Note on the exempted 'Ujairawiyeh estate, made by the Political Agent, Kuwait, ff 279-280.Reports from the Political Agent, Kuwait on the Shaikh's estae at Fao, including a diagram of the contended plots, and an excerpt from the
An Nasnewspaper providing details of the boundaries of the estate, ff 74-82.Details of the suits brought against the Shaikh in respect of certain land or land rights, including a list of cases to be heard in the Basra Court of First Instance, ff 86-92.Historical summary of the case, and proposals made by HM Ambassador to Iraq, ff 9-24.The file continues with Collection 17/8 part 3, reference IOR/L/PS/12/2855.The volume includes dividers which give lists of correspondence references contained in the volume by year. These are placed at the end of the correspondence (folios 4-5).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 621; 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 4-618; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled.
Abstract: This file is a continuation of IOR/L/PS/12/2857. It contains papers regarding the following: legal cases brought against the Shaikh of Kuwait (Shaikh Aḥmad al-Jābir Āl Ṣabāḥ) in respect of the ownership of date garden properties in Iraq; the subsequent institution of Land Settlement Procedure to determine the ownership of the gardens; and questions of compensation to be paid to the Shaikh of Kuwait in respect of a) property lost through litigation, and b) income lost through the imposition of Istihlak tax. The file also contains a small number of documents regarding compensation to be paid to the heirs of the Shaikh of Mohammerah in respect of Istihlak tax.The file primarily consists of correspondence between the India Office Political Department, the Foreign Office, HM Embassy at Baghdad, the Political Agent at Kuwait, and the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf. It discusses: the method of calculation to be used in determining compensation payments; legal advice to be provided to the Shaikh; the seizure of the Shaikh's Fao properties, and disposal of the date crops by the tenants; and proposals to end the Government's liability for the Shaikh's date garden properties.The file also contains communications received from the Shaikh of Kuwait, the Shaikh's son and acting representative in Basra (Shaikh Muḥammad Āl Ṣabāḥ), the Shaikh's lawyers, and the Government of Iraq. These primarily inform HMG of developments with the cases, and concern changes in the Shaikh's legal team.The following legal documents can be found within the file:Declaration of the Fao Nahiyah as a district for the purpose of Land Settlement operations, f 406.Notice issued by the Mudir of Fao, warning that the properties will be seized if payment for debts due to the Government is not paid within 10 days, f 347.List of the heirs of the Shaikh of Mohammerah, and details of the distribution of compensation, ff 185-192.Inheritance documents, and various Power of Attorney documents, ff 75-95.Genealogical diagram showing the heirs of the Jabir bin Abdullah Al Subah, prepared by the Political Agent at Kuwait, f 96.The file also contains a number of documents regarding the wording of the 1914 pledge made by HMG to the Shaikhs of Kuwait and Mohammerah, at folios 262-275. A précis of the proceedings of the date garden cases, with index, can be found at folios 114-129.The file contains dividers which give details of correspondence references contained in the file by year. These are placed at the end of the correspondence (folios 2-4).Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 426; 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 2-425; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled.
Abstract: This file contains correspondence and copies of relevant documents regarding travel regulations in the Persian Gulf, particularly discussions regarding landing and visa rules for entry in to Bahrain.All of the correspondence in the file is between British officials, notably the British Consulate in Basra; the British Embassy in Baghdad; the Political Agency in Bahrain and the Political Residency in Bushire.The file contains a limited amount of correspondence between the Political Agency in Bahrain and the Residency in Sharjah; this correspondence is in Arabic. On folios 95-96, the file contains a memorandum regarding travel documents issued by the Residency Agent in Sharjah.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 325; 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 6-320; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled, and are located in the same position as the main sequence.Foliation errors: folio 81 is followed by folio 81a.
Abstract: The volume comprises two parts discussing the Anglo-Turkish Agreement of 1913 and especially the negotiations with the Shaikh of Koweit [Kuwait] and Shaikh of Mahommera [Khorramshahr] with respect to their boundaries with Turkey.The volume comprises parts 1 and 2 of 2. Each part includes a divider which gives the subject and part numbers, year the subject file was opened, subject heading, and list of correspondence references contained in that part by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the inside front cover with 1 and terminates at the inside back cover with 210; 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 3-85 and between ff 86-208; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled, and are located in the same position as the main sequence.