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'File 73/7 I (D 19) Status of Kuwait & Baghdad Railway, and Anglo-Turkish negotiations 1911' [‎288v] (610/631)

The record is made up of 2 volumes (334 folios). It was created in 28 Jan 1911-19 Jan 1912. It was written in English and French. 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

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There seems no objection to the 1904 (post office)
of 24th May 1900 (arms traffic), oi letter i am to observe that,
With reference to the hnal the Turkish Government a
since it is not proposed tu ( on . , ■ t j le previous understanding
Z^rl 0i Z -ms more than we have a right to
"•T -m™.. .».! T, m MCk,f.. I
Treaties eelracted ' 'Y '' ' 11 "i '.' reiesoi, why They should not
Sanads," and to wthall^itl _• — ^ liut it seems expedient to
be communicated if L- 1 .. . , ( i ii' ..ndonthe coast rest not
remind the Porte that British consent, and
merely on the agreements t one u < . chiefs and the Government
long established relations between the local cmeis
of India. j am, &c.,
, R. R itchie.
The Under Secretary ot btate,
Foreign Office.
Enclosure No. 3.
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. to Foreign Office.
/T t . . \ 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. ,
(Immediate.) 30tli October
' With reference to this Office letter of the 11th September
reeardino- the communication to the Turkish Government of our treaties
wS Koweit ami other states in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , I am directed by the
Secretary of State for India to inform you that on a Inrtliw wnwd. > ati.^
of the terms in which the Government ot India proposed to delme our
obligations towards the Sheikh ot Koweit he finds himself no longer able
to concur in them. . •, ,,1 . i inno
The telegrams of 4th December 1901 and 14th Octobei
on which the Government of India appear to base the obligation to
protect Koweit by land and sea, m the Marquess of Crewe s opinion
clearly refer only to the incidents that occasioned them, and cannot he
understood to have given any general undertaking. Nor, in view ot Uio
fact that it has since been decided that our obljgataonsjxtemt to the
"wliole of the Sheikh's territory as described in Lorimer s Ga^efUer,
"would Ti Be sale to pledge ourselves to any specific method oL deiendmg
them. As was pointed out by Lord Morley in this Office letter oi 8th
April last, the term " good offices 1 (which by Colonel Meade s lettei oi
23rd Jan'urry 1899 we undertook to accord to the Sheikh) is a con
veniently vagne one, and Ford Crewe is ot opinion that it is neithoi
necessary nor sale to go beyond it. Ihe action taken by His Majesty s
Government in 1901-02, when men and guns were landed at Koweit to
defend it against unprovoked Turkish aggression, will moreover have
made it plain to the Porte in what way we are prepared to interpret the
term if necessity arises.
His Lordship would, therefore, suggest that the formula should run
" As regards No. 1 His Majesty's Government have informed the Sheikh
" of Koweit that so long as he and his heirs and successors act up to
" their obligations under the Agreement His Majesty's Government
" undertake to support them and accord them their good offices. 1 Vv ith
perhaps the addition that His Majesty's Government reserve to them
selves the right to interpret that term at their discretion.
I have, &c..
The 1 r nder Secretary of State, R. R itchie.
Foreign Office.

About this item

Content

The volume contains correspondence, memorandums, and newspaper cuttings relating to a proposed Baghdad to Basra railway, an extension of the German Berlin to Baghdad Railway. Much of the correspondence has been forwarded to the Residency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, established in the provinces and regions considered part of, or under the influence of, British India. by the Foreign Department of the Government of India and is between Edward Grey, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Francis Bertie, British Ambassador to France, Louis Mallet, Assistant Under-secretary of State for Near and Middle Eastern Affairs, Charles Marling, British Ambassador to Persia, Arthur Nicolson, Permanent Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Henry Babington Smith, President of the National Bank of Turkey, Gerard Lowther, British Ambassador to Constantinople, Rifaat Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. , Turkish Minister for Foreign Affairs, Edgar Speyer, railway financier, George Buchanan, British Ambassador to Russia, Edward Goschen, British Ambassador to Berlin, Henry Cumberbatch, British Consul General in Turkey, George Barclay, British Minister to Persia, the Board of Trade, and William Graham Greene, Permanent Secretary to the Board of Admiralty. There is also correspondence between 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, Rear-Admiral Edmond Slade, Stuart Knox, 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 Bahrain, and 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.

The volume covers the discussions prior to formal negotiations between Britain and the Ottoman Turks brought about by the Baghdad Railway and its proposed extension to the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. . The issues and subjects involved are:

  • the proposed route of the railway;
  • control and ownership of the section between Baghdad and Basra;
  • location of the terminus, and who will control it, including Slade's report (ff. 64-74) on the suitability of Basra;
  • a proposed increase to customs duty in the region;
  • irrigation of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers;
  • the contract to transport rail materials by the rivers;
  • the status of Kuwait, particularly regarding Turkish and British suzerainty and influence.

Throughout the volume there are newspaper cuttings from English periodicals that relate to the Baghdad Railway and negotiations around it.

Folio 47 is a rough sketch map of the peninsula Ras Tanurah. Folio 230 is a fold-out map of the proposed route of the railway and irrigation of the rivers.

Extent and format
2 volumes (334 folios)
Arrangement

The volume is arranged chronologically. At the beginning (folios 2-5) is a subject index. It is in no particular order and organised under a few broad headings. The numbers refer to folio numbers of the secondary, earlier sequence.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: The file consists of two volumes (parts one and two) and the foliation runs through both. The main foliation sequence commences at the title page of part one and terminates at the fifth folio from the back of part two; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and can be predominantly found in the top right corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. side of each folio. A second foliation sequence runs between ff. 8-291A; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled, and can be found in the same position as the main sequence. There are the following irregularities: 7 and 7A; 13 and 13A; 15 and 15A; 16, 16A and 16B; 17 and 17A; 18, 18A and 18B; 20, 20A and 20B; 21, 21A and 21B; 52, 52A, 52B, 52C; 53, 53A, 53B and 53C; 54, 54A, 54B and 54C; 55, 55A and 55B; 56, 56A and 56B; 57 and 57A; 290 and 290A.

Written in
English and French in Latin script
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'File 73/7 I (D 19) Status of Kuwait & Baghdad Railway, and Anglo-Turkish negotiations 1911' [‎288v] (610/631), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/R/15/1/610, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100023839676.0x0000c1> [accessed 27 January 2025]

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