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'File 53/83 I (D 99) Kuwait-Iraq Smuggling' [‎203r] (422/716)

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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. .

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- 5 -
•-q:
(3,
ti
o
<8
A
Tn
u
is vast desert with a 120 mile frontier line*
Such patrols would be faced with the difficulty
of saying what a man was carrying for his
family use or what was intended to be taken
into 'Iraq*
(d) She cannot accept the appointment of an
, Iraq official in Kuwait to watch the Blockade
question, and issue permits for goods that
go by sea to 'Iraq, as it would neither be
practicable nor serve any purpose with the
land tradegoing on unchecked* Nor could Kuwait
accept this interference with her sovereign
rights,
ii) f Iraq can on the other hand:-
(a) place a string of customs posts along her
frontier between Safwan and Higai. She has
none on this 120 mile stretch at present.
(b) She can get her Bedouin tribes, especially
the Dhafir to cooperate on her side of the
frontier by a system of subsidies, and giving
them a share of the 'catch', as Bin Saud does.
She prefers not to do this, and so the Dhafir
have become one of the chief snuggling tribes.
(c) She can base car patrols on Busaiya and
Zubair, the former operating from Rigai to
Jarishan, and the latter from Jarishan to Um-
Qasr, to look for and seize 'dumps' of contra
band goods collected on the 'Iraq side prior
to being sent on to the riverain area.
(d) She can make it an offence and bring
pressure to bear on her own powerful merchants
in Baghdad, Basra and elsewhere. (I could give
names of certain of these if necessary), and
forbid them to import sugar cargoes to Basra

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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
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'File 53/83 I (D 99) Kuwait-Iraq Smuggling' [‎203r] (422/716), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/R/15/1/531, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100023510124.0x000015> [accessed 1 April 2025]

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