'File 53/83 I (D 99) Kuwait-Iraq Smuggling' [46r] (106/716)
The record is made up of 1 volume (355 folios). It was created in 11 Jan 1933-29 May 1934. 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
This transcription is created automatically. It may contain errors.
II.GONTRABAim TRAFFIC ESTWESN ARAB STATICS
IN THE PSRSIAN GULF AND ESRSIA.
(a) The Persian policy in recent years of intro
ducing prohibitive tariffs all along her seaboard, has natui
ly been taken full advantage of by the states on the Arab
side mentioned in paragraph I above, and until the arrival
of the new Persian Navy, the running of contraband from
the Arab Coast to Persia, was a most easy and lucrative
pastime. Those chiefly engaged in the business were
the inhabitants of the
Trucial Coast
A name used by Britain from the nineteenth century to 1971 to refer to the present-day United Arab Emirates.
with their ingrained
love of piracy and adventure (as witness the rise of Debai
from a village to a large town in 20 years; , although
Bahrain, Qatar and Kuwait have not been far behind in
the game.
(b) The advent of Persian new navy, and the strenuous
efforts #iich Persia has since made to stop this illicit
traffic, have already made themselves felt, and contra
bandists working from the Arab side of the G-ulf are now
looking round for less risky fields for their operations#
Not unnaturally they have turned their attention to the
next two best countries for making profits, viz Sa'udiyeh
and IRAQ.
Both these states maintain high customs duties
as part of their national policy, especially on such
things as sugar, tea, piece goods, silks, silver thread
etc. etc.
(c) The Kingdom of Sa^diyeh of the two, is the
less easy to run contraband into, even though, it has
a long and desolate coast line, with hundreds of starving
Bedouins only too ready to run cargoes into the interior
in order to make a little profit. The reasons for this
are as follows:-
U The terror 79hich Bin Sauds harsh and
About this item
- Content
This file contains correspondence regarding alleged smuggling activities from Kuwait into Iraq. Primarily, the file contains internal correspondence between British officials but it also includes correspondence between British officials (primarily Harold Richard Patrick Dickson, the British 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. in Kuwait) and Shaikh Aḥmad al-Jābir Āl Ṣabāḥ, the ruler of Kuwait as well as correspondence between British officials and the Government of Iraq.
The majority of the correspondence discusses two incidents, in April and October 1933 respectively, in which Iraqi Customs Authorities attacked Kuwaiti sailing vessels, both of the incidents resulted in the death and injury of Kuwaiti subjects.
The file contains the following maps:
- Rough sketch of Kuwait-Iraq maritime frontier to illustrate the October 1933 incident (f 121)
- Two rough sketch maps showing Iraq's territorial water boundary (f 148 + f 149)
- Two rough sketch maps showing the official frontier lines of Kuwait (f 312 + f 320A)
- Copy of a tracing of Warba Island and its vicinity made by HMS Sphynx in 1903 (f 321).
The file contains a detailed note entitled 'On the contraband problem of Iraq with her neighbours, and in particular how it affects Kuwait' (ff 45-55) and a report on the supply of drinking water in Kuwait (ff 140-148) both of which were written by Dickson, 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. in Kuwait.
- Extent and format
- 1 volume (355 folios)
- Arrangement
File is arranged in chronological order, from earliest at beginning of the file to most recent at end.
Serial numbers in red crayon refer to entries in the notes at the rear of the file.
- Physical characteristics
Condition: A bound correspondence volume.
Foliation: The file's foliation is written in pencil, in the top right corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. of each folio. The foliation sequence, which should be used for referencing, begins with the first item of correspondence, on number 1, and ends on the last folio with text, on number 349.
The file contains the following foliation errors: f 147 is followed by f 147A; f 320 is followed by f 320A and the following omissions: ff 252-256. Note: f 148 and f 149 are stored in an envelope which is attached to f 147A; f 320A and f 321 are stored in an envelope which is attached to f 320.
- Written in
- English in Latin script View the complete information for this record
Use and share this item
- Share this item
'File 53/83 I (D 99) Kuwait-Iraq Smuggling' [46r] (106/716), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/R/15/1/531, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100023510122.0x00006b> [accessed 2 April 2025]
https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100023510122.0x00006b
Copy and paste the code below into your web page where you would like to embed the image.
<meta charset="utf-8"><a href="https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100023510122.0x00006b">'File 53/83 I (D 99) Kuwait-Iraq Smuggling' [‎46r] (106/716)</a> <a href="https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100023510122.0x00006b"> <img src="https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000000193.0x0001f8/IOR_R_15_1_531_0106.jp2/full/!280,240/0/default.jpg" alt="" /> </a>
This record has a IIIF manifest available as follows. If you have a compatible viewer you can drag the icon to load it.https://www.qdl.qa/en/iiif/81055/vdc_100000000193.0x0001f8/manifestOpen in Universal viewerOpen in Mirador viewerMore options for embedding images
Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- IOR/R/15/1/531
- Title
- 'File 53/83 I (D 99) Kuwait-Iraq Smuggling'
- Pages
- front, back, spine, edge, head, tail, front-i, i-r:iv-v, 1r:120v, 122r:147v, 147ar:147av, 150r:248r, 250v, 248v:250r, 251r:251v, 257r:270v, 273r, 271r:272v, 273v:311v, 313r:320v, 322r:349v, v-r:viii-v, back-i
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence