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File 10/12 Tribal and desert information: Ikhwan raids; Motor Transport Concession, Kuwait/Basra; Ikhwan rebellion, 1927 [‎212r] (423/646)

The record is made up of 1 file (321 folios). It was created in 7 Jan 1925-31 Dec 1927. It was written in English 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. .

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*>• Aa you are aware, the exieting «*ao - Kuwait Water Boat
!ail is only a fortnightly service in one direction, that is
to say it brings nails from Bas^h every alternate week, when
the Inward Slow Kail steamer does not oall at Kuwait. In
addition to merely abolishing this, and having the saae mail
brought by oar every fortnight Instead, I think that # now
that there are facilities, something more might be done to
improve the postal service between Kuwait and •irap in both
directions. I suggest therefore that an attempt be made to
arrange a oontraot with the Kuwait - ’Iraq ? f otor Transport
Company for the oonveyanoe of mails - other than Registered
and Parcel mails - between Kuwait and Zubair as facilities
fer. As thin would not force the Company to run oars at a
l>ss on days on which there were no passengers, and as the
number of bags and the weight of mail would normelly be very
smal?*., I think such a oontraot could be arranged at a moderate
coat - and against that would be the saving of Ra.i: i # to.ci. per
month which la the average oost of the Fao - Kuwait Hater
Ro«t hail* I would suggest, however, that any such oontraot
should be for a short period, such as si* months, in the first
instance. This would be a gre*t advantage to the Town general!
not only to those people who have business dealings with *x
Iraq, but also to the larger number who trade with India, as
even under existing conditions, it is more expeditious to send
letters by the ’’Outward" Slow Mail to connect with the Past
Kail at Basrah than lo send thee by the *** "Inward” Slow Hall
direct even when it calls here, but this is not always possibls
if the "Outward” Slow Mail is late, To «e, as 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. ,
it would be of immense value, *e I rould get Basrah newspapers
with reasonable frequency, and won: X not be so handicapped as
I am at present by the lack of information of what is happenir*
in the outside world.
?. I now oome to th* auction of county, and the danger of
0ftr8 bain “ neW U P «•»**•« »nd highway robber., of whloh of
course there 1. a „.ry real ri.Ji. It la Urgely for thl. reaaor
that I rssoanend that r.gl.tered letter, and paroel. should not
be sent by thl

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Content

This file contains correspondence related to the British Government's relationship with Ibn Sa'ud [‘Abd al-‘Azīz bin ‘Abd al-Raḥmān bin Fayṣal Āl Sa‘ūd].

The correspondence primarily relates to raids that were made into Iraq and Kuwait by Ikhwan forces and associated acts of livestock plunder and killing. As such, the file contains two reports regarding these raids that were submitted to the Political Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. in Kuwait by the Senior Staff Officer of the Akhwan Defence, a British force that had been established to counter the threat of Ikhwan raids into Iraq and monitor their movements (folios 40-47 and 84-130).

The file also contains correspondence that relates to discussions concerning the construction of a paved road (for the use of motor vehicles) between Southern Iraq and Kuwait. A copy of a concession for its construction that was granted to Sayyid Hamid bin Rajab al-Naqib by the Ruler of Kuwait, Shaikh Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah, is contained in Arabic (folios 67-69) and English (folios 72-75). In this context, the file contains descriptions written by 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, Major James Carmichael More, of a number of different routes between Southern Iraq and Kuwait at the time. These descriptions are as follows:

  • Jafrah to Safwan (in English, folios 49-53 and Arabic, folios 59-62);
  • Kuwait to Basrah via Basrah and then direct to Safwan (folios 54-57);
  • Jahrah to Zubair (folios 137-146).

Towards the end of the file, the correspondence in the file discusses reports of the tensions between the Ikhwan and Ibn Sa'ud and the beginning of the Ikhwan revolt.

As well as correspondence between British officials, correspondence between 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. More and the Ruler of Kuwait, Shaikh Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah (in Arabic with English translations) appears throughout the file.

Extent and format
1 file (321 folios)
Arrangement

The papers are arranged in approximate chronological order from the front to the rear of the file.

An index of topics discussed is contained at the rear of the file (on folios 322-323); the folios used in this index relate to an earlier incomplete foliation system that is in uncircled pencil 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.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1 and terminates at the last folio with 323; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located at the top right corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. side of each folio. An additional foliation sequence is present in parallel between ff 1-323; these numbers are also written in pencil and circled, but are crossed through.

Written in
English and Arabic in Latin and Arabic script
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File 10/12 Tribal and desert information: Ikhwan raids; Motor Transport Concession, Kuwait/Basra; Ikhwan rebellion, 1927 [‎212r] (423/646), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/R/15/5/38, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100035873423.0x000018> [accessed 21 June 2026]

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