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'File 73/7 II (D 22) Status of Koweit [Kuwait] - Baghdad railway, Anglo Turkish negotiations' [163r] (331/540)
The record is made up of 1 volume (268 folios). It was created in 24 Oct 1911-26 Dec 1912. It was written in English, French and Arabic. 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.
His Majesty's Government in the matter of British participation in the Bagdad Railway,
and that they will meet that sacrifice by a corresponding modification of the views set
forth in the Turkish memorandum of the 15th April.
8. His Majesty's Government must in the first instance protest against the con
tention that there is a misunderstanding with regard to the assurance given, and
0 repeatedly given, to Her Majesty's Ambassador at Constantinople, to the effect that
Turkey did not entertain any intention of obtaining the supremacy over Bahrein,
Muscat, or the independent tribes on the coast of the
Persian Gulf
The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran.
.
9. The original despatches, duly signed and dated, in which these assurances
were reported, have been carefully preserved in the archives of the Foreign Office, and
they can readily be produced for the inspection of the Turkish Embassy.
10. His Majesty's Government maintain that prior to Midhat
Pasha
An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders.
's expedition
there were on the Arabian coast no symbols of Turkish authority, no Turkish jurisdiction
or occupation, effective or ineffective. And while they are now prepared to recognise Annex 4.
Turkish sovereignty between the southernmost limits of Koweit (as hereinafter defined)
and Ojeir, they are unable to admit that any of the arguments adduced in the Turkish
memorandum in any way invalidates the statement that south of Ojeir, in the district
■of El Katif, there is no trace of Turkish power ever having been paramount; and they
are lully persuaded that El Katr has never been locally regarded as forming part of.
or indeed as being subject to the influence of, the Ottoman Empire.
For themselves, relying no less on the obvious facts than on the Turkish assurances
mentioned above, they have never so regarded it, and they have repeatedly informed
the Sublime Porte accordingly.
11. His Majesty's Government can only reiterate their opinion that any lasting
settlement between the two Powers must provide for the definite renunciation by
ihe Ottoman Empire of the whole of the peninsula ot El Katr, including El Bidaa.
They have consistently opposed any consolidation of Turkish authority, which first
attempted to assert itself so recently as 1870, and they are bound to continue that
opposition.
12. The Turkish memorandum of the 15th April does not afford His Majesty's
•Government all the information which they consider essential to a due appreciation
•of the attitude of the Turkish Government respecting Koweit. His Majesty's .
Government are concerned to ensure the continuance of the local government of the o ,
■Sheikh of Koweit, as defined in their memorandum of the 29th July, 1911. Further, P J
His Majesty's Government would be fully prepared to recognise Turkish suzerainty 1 \
over Koweit and indeed to recognise the Sheikh as a Turkish kaimakam, but they w
attach cardinal importance to the islands of Warba and Bubiyan being 1 admitted by j^; emo
Turkey to be within the confines of Koweit, to the withdrawal of the Turkish military randum
post from Bubiyan, and to a recognition of the limits of Koweit in accordance with (Annex 4).
the indications contained in the accompanying memorandum.
13. His Majesty's Government regret that they would consider the introduction of
divided responsibility for maritime police measures altogether incompatible with the
principles and successful accomplishment of their policy in the
Persian Gulf
The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran.
. This
policy consists in the maintenance of the maritime peace, and has been successfully
pursued, to the advantage of all concerned, for a century. To modify the system in
these circumstances would be alike unnecessary and unjustifiable.
14. Indeed His Majesty's Government would go further. They consider that they
have acquired by prescription not merely the right but the duty to maintain peace
in the
Persian Gulf
The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran.
; they have always been opposed to any proposal to trench upon
their prerogative ; and it was this attitude which led to the declaration made by the
Marquess of Lansdowne in the House of Lords on the 5th May, 1903, that "His
Majesty's Government would regard the establishment of a naval base, or of a fortified
port, in the
Persian Gulf
The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran.
by any other Power as a very grave menace to British interests,
and they should certainly resist it with all the means at their disposal."
His Majesty's Government must therefore ask the Turkish Government to recognise
in the
Persian Gulf
The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran.
the right of Great Britain—(a.) To control surveying, lighting,
buoying, and pilotage; [h.) To police its waters; and (c.) To conduct all quarantine
arrangements.
15. In submitting these final proposals for the acceptance of the Turkish Govern
ment, His Majesty's Government are not seeking territorial aggrandisement, nor are
they embarking upon any new developments of policy. Their desire is simply to
secure the recognition and to ensure the continuance of an order of things which, in
fact, grew up under their auspices and before the appearance of Turkish authority in
the
Persian Gulf
The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran.
, and which has been proved by experience to favour the development
About this item
- Content
The volume contains letters, telegrams, and memorandums pertaining to Anglo-Turkish negotiations brought on by the Baghdad Railway and particularly the extension to Basra. Correspondents include: Percy Cox, Political Resident A senior ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul General) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Residency. at Bushire, William Shakespear, 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. at Kuwait, Edward Grey, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Louis Mallet, Assistant Under-secretary of State for Near and Middle Eastern Affairs, Charles Marling, British Ambassador to Persia, Gerard Lowther, British Ambassador to Constantinople, George Buchanan, British Ambassador to Russia, Admiral Edmond Slade, the Board of Trade, the Government of India, the 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. , and several private companies, including Trans-Atlantic Trust Company, Anglo-Persian Oil Company, Imperial Ottoman Bank, and Imperial Persian Bank.
The form of the negotiations was a series of memorandums containing proposals and counter-proposals. The issues and subjects discussed are:
- ownership and control of the line;
- custom duty increases in the region;
- navigation of the Shatt al-Arab, including the establishment of a commission to oversee this;
- transport of railway materials by the Tigris and Euphrates rivers;
- delimitation of the Turkish-Persian border;
- status and territorial limit of Kuwait;
- other Gulf matters, including the statuses of Bahrain and Qatar, the suppression of arms traffic, piracy, and slavery, and the protection of pearl fisheries.
Folios 261-262 are a map showing the proposed territorial limits of Kuwait.
- Extent and format
- 1 volume (268 folios)
- Arrangement
The volume is arranged chronologically. At the beginning (ff. 3-4) is a subject index, in no particular order but grouped under several broad headings. The numbers refer to folio numbers from the secondary, earlier sequence.
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: The volume is foliated from the front cover to the inside back cover, using circled pencil numbers positioned in the top-right corner of each recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. . There are two earlier foliation systems running through parts of the volume. The first uses uncircled pencil numbers in the top-right corner of recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. pages, and the top-left corner of verso The back of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'v'. pages. This foliation system numbers pages if they have content on them, which is the case for all rectos and some versos. This foliation system appears intermittently through most of the volume. The other foliation system uses circled blue pencil numbers in the top-right corner of recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. pages, and appears from folios 5 to 42. Numerous printed materials contained in the volume have their own internal pagination systems. The following foliation irregularities occur: 1a, 34a, 51B, 219B, 250B.
- Written in
- English, French and Arabic in Latin and Arabic script View the complete information for this record
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'File 73/7 II (D 22) Status of Koweit [Kuwait] - Baghdad railway, Anglo Turkish negotiations' [163r] (331/540), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/R/15/1/611, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100023826001.0x000084> [accessed 7 June 2026]
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Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- IOR/R/15/1/611
- Title
- 'File 73/7 II (D 22) Status of Koweit [Kuwait] - Baghdad railway, Anglo Turkish negotiations'
- Pages
- front, front-i, 1ar:1av, 2r:5v, 16r:22v, 24r:34v, 34ar:34av, 35r:42v, 44r:49v, 51r:51v, 51br:51bv, 52r:54v, 56r:63v, 66r:67v, 72r:112r, 113r:134v, 136r:168v, 170r:182v, 184r:204r, 205v:213v, 215v, 219br:219bv, 222r:225v, 227r:236v, 238r:250v, 250br:250bv, 251r:261v, 262v:264v, back-i, back
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence