Abstract: This file contains correspondence between British diplomatic and naval officials regarding an incident in which a Kuwaiti dhow was held up and robbed on the Shatt al-Arab by a patrol boat of the Persian Police. An account of the incident as reported by the Political Agent in Kuwait, Harold Dickson, in correspondence with the Political Residency is contained on folios 24-26.In addition to correspondence, the file contains the following:'Note on Conversation with Major Frank Holmes' (folios 2-3)'Complaints against Persia in respect of "Dhow Incidents" in Persian Gulf' (folios 4-5)'Cases of interference with vessels or violation of territory belonging to the Arab protégés of His Majesty's Government in the Persian Gulf by Persian Warships or Customs Authorities' (folios 7-9)An account of the incident by the Dhow's captain, Seyed Abdul Latif al Gharabally (folios 28-30).Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 33; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.
Abstract: The file concerns the question of whether Bahrain (also referred to as Bahrein), the Trucial Coast, and Kuwait should be considered part of the British Empire for the purposes of import duties and international agreements. The issue is mainly discussed in terms of the Import Duties Act, 1932 (copy of the Act, folios 221-233), which granted exemption of general ad valorem duty and any additional duty on goods consigned from any part of the British Empire, and produced in:any part of His Majesty's dominions outside the United Kingdomany territory under His Majesty's protectionThe papers include: discussion of the status of Bahrain under the terms of the Import Duties Act, 1932; India Office and Foreign Office agreement, 1935, that Bahrain (and the Trucial Coast and Kuwait) should not be classed as part of the British Empire for the purposes of the Act; representations from a company importing red oxide from Abu Musa about the payment of such duty, 1935; the decision of the Foreign Office to reverse their earlier decision and to include Bahrain, the Trucial Coast, and Kuwait in the British Empire for the purposes of the Act, 1936; enquiries from various companies over the status of Bahrain and other British-protected states in the Persian Gulf for import purposes; a request, which the British Government declined, from the Bahrain Petroleum Company (BAPCO) for imperial preference to be given to Bahrain oil for export to Australia and New Zealand, 1937; the view of the Foreign Office, 1937, that Bahrain should be counted as a British protectorate for the purposes the Narcotics Drugs Convention of 1931; and related correspondence concerning the duty on imports from the region.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 (used for referencing) commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 265; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.
Abstract: This file contains copies of annual Kuwait Trade Reports that were prepared by the Political Agency in Kuwait. These reports contain detailed information related to trade, exchange, imports, exports and shipping in/out of Kuwait. In addition to copies of these reports, the file also contains a limited amount of related correspondence, primarily cover letters.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 main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 204; 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 2-202; these numbers are also written in pencil and circled.
Abstract: The file concerns negotiations over the signing of the commercial agreement between the Shaikh of Kuwait, Shaikh Ahmad al-Jabir as-Sabah [Aḥmad al-Jābir Āl Ṣabāḥ] and the Kuwait Oil Company. The agreement provided the company with exclusive rights to exploit oil, gas, and petroleum products within the state of Kuwait (also referred to in the papers as Koweit). The company was equally owned by the Anglo-Persian Oil Company (APOC) and the Gulf Oil Corporation of the United States. The agreement was the counterpart to the political agreement between the British Government and the Kuwait Oil Company, the negotiations for which are described in file IOR/L/PS/12/3808: Coll 30/89 'Oil: Koweit Oil Agreement between the Koweit Oil Company and His Majestys Government.'.The file covers: the need to expedite the signing of oil concession agreements in Qatar and Kuwait, in view of a further substantial discovery of oil in Bahrain (folio 472); minutes of India Office officials, commenting on the negotiations; drafts of the Kuwait commercial agreement (including a bilingual English and Arabic version, folios 191-204), with discussion and comment; the need for the commercial agreement not to come into force until the government (political) agreement had been concluded (folio 417); comparisons between the Kuwait and Qatar agreements (e.g. folio 407); the need for the Shaikh of Kuwait to be informed of the existence of the agreement between the British Government and the Kuwait Oil Company before the commercial agreement was signed (e.g. folio 354); the views of the Foreign Office on how to ensure that the concession was awarded to the Kuwait Oil Company, and awareness of the need to be able to defend the British position to the Government of the United States (folios 325-330); discussion in general of American interests in the concession; minutes of meetings held at the India Office between British Government officials and representatives of the Kuwait Oil Company; Kuwait intelligence summaries; correspondence (some of it in both English and Arabic), and records of meetings between the Political Agent, Kuwait and the Shaikh of Kuwait; frequent discussion of the question of the appointment of a Chief Local Representative to act on behalf of the Shaikh; British suspicions of the role of Major Frank Holmes in the negotiations; discussion of the financial terms of the Kuwait concession (folios 58-62); and a letter on the subject of the concession to Messrs Traders Limited (folios 7-10).The main correspondents are the Foreign Office; representatives of the Anglo-Persian Oil Company, and the Kuwait Oil Company; the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf; and the Political Agent, Kuwait (Major Harold Richard Patrick Dickson, and, acting for Dickson, Major Ralph Ponsonby Watts).The Arabic language content of the file consists of approximately twenty-five folios.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 479; 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 arrangements for the delivery of airmail between UK and Kuwait, and between Kuwait and Iraq.The file contains correspondence between the UK General Post Office, the Commonwealth Relations Office, the India Office, and the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 20; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.
Abstract: The file concerns the Post and Telegraph Office and mail delivery in Kuwait.The file contains:Commercial agreement between ruler of Kuwait and Cable and Wireless Limited, 1941Construction of wireless station at Kuwait, administered by Cable and Wireless Limited, 1941Interruption of postal service between Kuwait and Iraq, 1941Transfer of administration of Kuwait postal business to Indian Postal Administration, 1941Agreements with Kuwait - Zubair Transport Company for motor vehicle mail service, 1942-43Establishment of a Money Order Service between Iraq and Kuwait, 1942Draft agreements between the ruler of Kuwait [Shaikh Aḥmad al-Jābir Āl Ṣabāḥ] and Cable and Wireless Limited, regarding the maintenance of the wireless telegraph station at Kuwait, 1946-47Agreement between the ruler of Kuwait [Shaikh Aḥmad al-Jābir Āl Ṣabāḥ] and Cable and Wireless Limited, regarding the maintenance of the wireless telegraph station at Kuwait, in English and Arabic, 1947.The file is composed of correspondence between Cable and Wireless Limited, the Political Agent at Kuwait, the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf, the Government of India, the Foreign Office, the India Office, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Iraq, the British Embassy at Baghdad, Harris Publications Limited, the Commonwealth Communications Council, the General Post Office, and the Treasury.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 362; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.
Abstract: This file contains correspondence regarding plans for Muhammad bin Ahmad al-Jabir al-Sabah, one of the sons of the Ruler of Kuwait, to study in the United Kingdom. Much of the correspondence is between John Gilbert Laithwaite of the India Office and Gabbitas, Thring & Co Ltd., an educational consultancy based in London. The file also contains correspondence between Laithwaite and the Ruler of Kuwait, Shaikh Ahmad al-Jabir al-Sabah and a number of private tutors based in Oxford that were considered as potential hosts for Muhammad.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 (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 61; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.
Abstract: The file contains correspondence regarding civil aviation matters in Kuwait (also spelt Koweit in the file). The primary focus is the negotiation of a Civil Air Agreement between the British Government and the Shaikh of Kuwait, Shaikh Sir Ahmad al-Jabir al-Sabah [Shaikh Aḥmad al-Jābir Āl Ṣabāḥ] in 1934, its subsequent renewal in 1938, 1945, and discussion related to its possible further renewal in 1948. Draft and final copies of each agreement can be found within the file; a 1934 copy contains both English and Arabic versions of the document (see folio 185-187). Correspondence related to occasional amendments has also been included.Also discussed in the correspondence is the granting of permission for Imperial Airways (later the British Overseas Airways Corporation - BOAC) to land in Kuwait in September 1932 for a period of six months, and the establishment of an airmail service in 1948. It also contains some correspondence relating to British military requirements in Kuwait, and the transfer of the maintenance of the Kuwait Aerodrome from the Royal Air Force (RAF) to the Kuwait Oil Company.The file also contains proposals from the Kuwait Oil Company for the construction of a new aerodrome in 1948, including two plans for the proposed airstrip (see folios 20-21).In addition to the copy of the Kuwait Civil Air Agreement (1934), the file contains a limited amount of correspondence with both English and Arabic translation.The main correspondents are as follows: the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf, and the Political Agent at Kuwait. The file also contains correspondence with the following departments of the British Government: the Air Ministry, the Foreign Office, the India Office (the Commonwealth Relations Office from August 1947), and the Ministry for Civil Aviation.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 commences at the inside front cover with 1 and terminates at the last folio with 273; 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 contains correspondence and notes regarding the reservation of land in Kuwait (also frequently spelt Koweit) for the potential future use of the Royal Air Force (RAF); the correspondence is prompted by fears that the Kuwait Oil Company may develop sites in connection with its oil concession, and thus prevent them from being utilised by the British Government. This includes the selection of suitable sites for an additional aerodrome, should the British Government decide it is required, and the erection of moorings for flying boats. Most of the papers are concerned with Bandar Shuwaikh [Bandar ash Shuwaykh], also referred to as ‘area A' or the ‘quarantine area’. The papers cover the process of enquiring as to what terms the Shaikh of Kuwait will consent to sell or rent the area to the British Government, and subsequent discussion as to whether the Air Ministry is willing to rent the area in question. The later correspondence covers proposed developments by the Kuwait Oil Company in 1939.Some correspondence is also included in relation to the Kuwait Civil Air Agreement (1934): a copy of this agreement can be found on folios 73-86, including a letter from Shaikh Sir Ahmad al Jabir as-Sabah [Shaikh, Aḥmad al-Jābir Āl Ṣabāḥ] granting the RAF priority use of facilities.The main correspondents are as follows: the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf (Trenchard Craven William Fowle and Percy Gordon Loch, acting), the Political Agent at Kuwait (Harold Richard Dickson, Gerald Simpson de Gaury, and Arnold Crawshaw Galloway), officials of the India Office (John Gilbert Laithwaite and Miles John Clauson), and the Air Ministry (Wilfred Ashton McClaughry). There is no correspondence in the file for 1935 and 1938.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 commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 153; 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 contains correspondence and related notes on the drafting of general procedures for the provision of air facilities along the Arabian Coast Air Route, which would form the civil air agreements for Bahrain, Kuwait (also spelt Koweit), and Muscat. Numerous copies of the proposed draft agreement can be found through out the file, while printed copies of the final agreements can be found on folios 112-174 (Kuwait) and 175-177 (Bahrain); no copies of the agreement concluded with the Sultan of Muscat can be found within the file. The file also contains copies of special authorisations issued by the authorities at Bahrain, Kuwait, and Muscat, permitting access to their respective territories and airspace to aircraft of Imperial Airways, Indian Trans-Continental Airways, and Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services (QANTAS).The authorisations issued by the authorities at Kuwait include both Arabic and English translation.The main correspondents are: the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf (Trenchard Craven William Fowle; Percy Gordon Loch, acting; and Hugh Weightman, acting), the Political Agent at Bahrain, the Political Agent at Kuwait, the Political Agent and Consul at Muscat, officials of the Air Ministry, officials of the Foreign Office, and officials of the India Office.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 commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 394; 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: This file contains copies of the monthly diary of the British Residency and Consulate-General in Bushire that was compiled by the Secretary of the Political Resident in Bushire.The diaries are separated into a number of different sections that vary slightly from month to month. In addition to reports concerning specific events or developments that took place during that month, most entries contain the following headings:movements of British officialslocal affairstribal and politicalsecuritypublic healthpublic relationsshipping and commercetribal and politicalmeteorologicalcommunicationseconomic situationwar suppliesThe 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 main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the inside front cover with 1 and terminates at the last folio with 468; 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 2-468; these numbers are also written in pencil and are circled, but are crossed through.
Abstract: This file contains copies of the monthly diary of the British Residency and Consulate-General in Bushire that was compiled by the Secretary of the Political Resident in Bushire.The diaries are separated into a number of different sections that vary slightly from month to month. In addition to reports concerning specific events or developments that took place during that month, most entries contain the following headings:movementslocal affairscommunicationsmilitaryelectionstribalpoliticaltrade and commercepublic healthcountry craftThe 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 main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1 and terminates at the inside back cover with 74; 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 4-72; these numbers are also written in pencil and are circled, but are crossed through.