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Coll 17/30(1) ‘Iraq. Proposed additional outlet to the sea, in or near Koweit territory. Development of port at Um Qasr.’ [‎52r] (106/1081)

The record is made up of 1 file (531 folios). It was created in 2 May 1938-19 Aug 1942. 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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-7
5 /
Government, on July 18t,h 1912 a detailed Memorandum* Annex
4 to that Memorandum contains a description of the Kuwait-
Turkish frontier as T * a line running from Khor as Sabiyah
so as to pass immediately south of Uram Qasr and Safwan to Jebel
Sanam .*•" (vide Annexure to^his note, serial No•II)* This
description is identical with the description of Kuwait’s
northern boundary given in Lorimer f s Gazetteer, Vol.II,p»1060
(vide Annexure, serial No.I)* In other words - and this is a
point of primary importance - effect was being given to the
decision reached by His Majesty's Government at an earlier date
that "our obligations extend to the whole of the Shaikh's
territory as described inLorimer's Gazetteer" (vide India
Office letter dated 30th October 1911 to Foreign Office).
10. That the definition of the Kuwait boundary contained
in Lorimer's Gazetteer was by no means acceptable to Shaikh
Mubarak of Kuwait is evident from contemporary correspondence.
The Shaikh claimed that Safwan and Urn Qasr (the latter place
being the original home of the Shaikh's ancestors) were un
doubtedly his| and Captain 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. , Kuwait,
in the "Note on the Boundaries of the Kuwait Principality"
which formed an enclosure to his letter No.C 62 dated 12th
August 1912 to the 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. in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , gave
the strong support of his expert knowledge to the ShaiKh s
claim. His Majesty's Government were not, however, prepared
to make any substantial alteration to the definition of the
Kuwait boundary which had already been proposed to the Turkish
Government $ and thedefinition of the frontier contained, in
Article 7 of the Anglo-Turkish Agreement of 29th July 1913
(vide Annexure to this note, serial No.VI) is, if not identical
in words, identical in substance with Lorimer’s description
(Annexure, serial No.l).
11. The statement that the definition of the frontier
contained in Article 7 of the Anglo-Turkish Agreement of
/ 29th

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Content

The file contains papers relating to the proposed construction of a port in Kuwait (Koweit) Bay, and the construction of a port in Um Qasr Creek.

The papers mostly concern the following:

  • The attitude of HM Government towards the proposal of the Government of Iraq for the extension of the Iraqi railway system through Kuwait territory to the coast at Koweit Bay, and the construction there of a port under Iraqi control. This proposed port would provide Iraq with an additional commercial outlet to the sea on the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , as an alternative to the Shatt-al-Arab.
  • The Iraqi Government’s adoption of the alternative recommendation of Um Qasr Creek in the Khor Abdulla as the location for the port, and the Iraqi Government raising the question of territorial concessions from Kuwait in relation to the port.
  • The decision of British military authorities in 1941 to construct a port at Um Qasr as an urgent military necessity, to remain under British military control during the Second World War, and the proposal to improve port facilities in Koweit itself in order to enable troops and stores to be disembarked there.
  • The location of the selected site for the port in Um Qasr Creek in relation to the disputed frontier between Iraq and Kuwait.

The papers largely consist of 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. minute papers and internal notes, papers of the Committee of Imperial Defence Standing Official Sub-Committee for Questions Concerning the Middle East, and correspondence and copy correspondence between the following:

Other correspondents in the file include the Army Council, the Air Council, the Admiralty, 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. at Kuwait (Tom Hickinbotham), and the Ruler of Kuwait (Shaikh Aḥmad al-Jābir Āl Ṣabāḥ).

The file includes a divider, which gives a list of correspondence references contained in the file by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence.

Extent and format
1 file (531 folios)
Arrangement

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

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 535; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located 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. An additional foliation sequence is present in parallel between ff 2-353; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled.

Written in
English in Latin script
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Coll 17/30(1) ‘Iraq. Proposed additional outlet to the sea, in or near Koweit territory. Development of port at Um Qasr.’ [‎52r] (106/1081), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/2892, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100102490496.0x00006d> [accessed 5 April 2025]

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