Sheikhdom of Kuwait

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State of Kuwait
دولة الكويت

Protectorate of the British Empire

←

1899–1961

→

Flag of Kuwait (1915–1956)

Location of Kuwait in the Middle East.

Capital

Languages

Government

Historical era

Established

1899

Disestablished

1961

Area

1920^{[citation needed]}

17,820 km² (6,880 sq mi)

Population

1920^{[citation needed]} est.

50,000

Density

2.8 /km² (7.3 /sq mi)

1961 est.

321,600

Density

18 /km² (46.7 /sq mi)

Currency

Kuwaiti dinar

Today part of

Kuwait

The Sheikhdom of Kuwait (Arabic: مشيخة الكويت‎) was a British protectorate between 1899 and 1961.

Foundation

Al-Hashemi-II Marine Museum in Kuwait City.

The Bani Utbah (early migration and settlement)

Kuwait was founded in the early eighteenth century, in the year 1705, by members of the Bani Utbah tribe, some of which are Al-Sabah, and Al-Jalahma. Kuwait was then known as Guraine. The Bani Utbah established the town and port of Guraine and called it Kuwait ("little fort," from kut, "fort"). They were descendants of the Bani Utbah tribe who gradually migrated in the early eighteenth century from Basra or Najd to the shores of the Persian Gulf. The tribe had originally migrated to Basra and settled there for many generations, they were prominent in Basra's trade market and owned over 300 ships involved in trade. When they arrived at Kuwait, the Bani Utbah tribe established a settlement and possibly built a fortress from which the name Kuwait, a diminutive of kut or fortress, derives.

Early political and economic development

Early economy

The Kuwait Gate, built in 1929, originally surrounded Kuwait City.

Peace in a region dominated by the Bani Khalid, as well as internal problems that kept other regional powers from interfering, allowed the settlers to develop new maritime skills. Kuwait had arguably one of the best natural harbors in the region. Its location allowed it to benefit from the caravan trade to Aleppo and Baghdad, Shatt al-Arab trade, and from smuggling trade into Ottoman territory that high tariffs encouraged. The settler's self-sufficiency to the desert was abandoned as they became linked to this trading network that included trade in horses, wood, spices, coffee, dates and especially pearls. Kuwait was located within close sail of the pearl banks that stretched down the Persian Gulf coast. In the summer, boats sailed for pearls; in the winter, they turned to entrepôt trade. During the Persian invasion of Basra, most of the trade at Basra was diverted to Kuwait and several Persian merchant families in Basra settled in Kuwait. Kuwait went on to become a prominent trading point along with Basra. Under the Ottoman Empire, Kuwait played a pivotal role in the overland trade to the Mediterranean.

By 1760, the community in Kuwait was diverse. It was mostly merchant traders from the ships and camel caravans from the trade route between Baghdad and Damascus.

Early political environment

Trade became the basis of the economy and the Al Khalifa, Al-Sabah, Al-Roumi and Al Jalahma developed new political and social arrangements to organize life in a settled economy. Tribal traditions were retained, but were placed within a complex occupational and social stratification. Trade became tightly and hierarchically organized. Pearl divers were distinguished occupationally from ropepullers, captains, or merchants. The proceeds from the pearling industry were divided on the basis of occupation; at the top, a stratum of merchants, the core of which composed of the Al Khalifa), Al-Sabah, Al-Roumi, and Al Jalahma, became the elite. Above the merchants were the Al-Sabah family, who early on enjoyed some preeminence.

Al-Sabahs

Jaber Subah with British Army soldiers.

Soon after the colony was founded, a Sabah became leader, ruling until his death in 1762. One tradition has it that political preeminence went to the Sabahs as part of an explicit agreement in 1716, the heads of the al-Khalifa, al-Sabah, and al-Jalahima agreed to give the Sabahs preeminence in government and military affairs, subject to consultation, while the Khalifas controlled local commerce and the Jalahima maritime affairs. Another account has it that after reaching Kuwait the Bani Utub held a council and elected a representative to go to Basra to explain their peaceful intent to the Ottomans. The man chosen was a Sabah, Sabah I bin Jaber. Sabah diplomacy may have also been important with neighbouring tribes, especially as Bani Khalid power declined. This selection is usually dated to 1756.^[1]

Many theories exist as to the source and origin of Sabah power. The Sabahs, because of their role in the caravan (as opposed to sea) trade, developed closer ties with the desert, and as a result became the tax collectors there, an important revenue source. Their rise has also been attributed to administrative functions; control of the harbor required administration and also increased the Shaikh's power by giving him access to resources independent of the desert, hence some independence from tribal alliances. The port also gave the Shaikh a territorial base just as Kuwait's entrepôt economy, oriented to fixed land and sea routes, caused the nomads to become sedentary and desert grazing for shipbuilding, pearling, and long-distance trade. As the people became more linked to the land, the settled became ascendent over the bedu, and the stakes of politics changed. As the political unit was slowly tied to the land, the idea of a people to a place emerged and enhanced the Shaikh's power.

In 1762, Sabah I died and was succeeded by his youngest son, Abdullah. Shortly after Sabah's death, in 1766, the al-Khalifa and, soon after, the al-Jalahima, left Kuwait en masse for Zubara in Qatar. Domestically, the al-Khalifa and al-Jalahima had been among the top contenders for power. Their emigration left the Sabahs in undisputed control, and by the end of Abdullah I's long rule (1762–1812), Sabah rule was secure, and the political hierarchy in Kuwait was well established, the merchants deferring to direct orders from the Shaikh. By the 19th century, not only was the ruling Sabah much stronger than a desert Shaikh but also capable of naming his son successor. This influence was not just internal but enabled the al-Sabah to conduct foreign diplomacy. They soon established good relations with the British East India Company in 1775.^[1]

Merchants

Clothing used by Kuwaiti divers searching for pearls. (Al-Hashemi-II Marine Museum, Kuwait City.)

History of Kuwait
Part of a series on the

Ancient Kuwait
Ubaid period
Dilmun
Characene
Mesopotamia
Early Kuwait
Kazima Founding of modern Kuwait (1613) Kuwait–Najd War Battle of Jahra Sheikhdom of Kuwait (1899-1961) 1938 Majlis Movement
Independence
State of Kuwait (1961-1990) Gulf War Republic of Kuwait (1990) Iraqi rule (1990-1991) State of Kuwait (since 1991)
See also
History of Kuwait House of Sabah
Kuwait portal
v t e

Sabah family rule, though well established, remained limited until well into the 20th century. This is because the merchants, owing to their financial power, could still check Sabah designs. One of the well known merchants, Hussain Ali Bin Saif Al-Roumi, was known as the leader in pearl trade throughout the region, sustaining the economy for decades before the discovery of oil. The financial influence of the merchants came from their control of trade and imports, duties on which sustained the Shaikh. Because wealth was imbedded in movable property, refuge was tolerated by neighbouring Shaikhs, and Britain intervened only when important interests were at stake, secession was an effective merchant tactic. A large secession could reduce the shaikhdom's economic and military power and create a refuge for future dissidents.

Assassination of Muhammad Bin Sabah

Although Kuwait was nominally governed from Basra, the Kuwaitis had traditionally maintained a relative degree of autonomous status.^[2] In the 1870s, Ottoman officials were reasserting their presence in the Persian Gulf, with a military intervention in 1871—which was not effectively pursued—where family rivalries in Kuwait were breeding chaos. The Ottomans were bankrupt and when the European banks took control of the Ottoman budget in 1881, additional income was required from Kuwait and the Arabian peninsula. Midhat Pasha, the governor of Iraq, demanded that Kuwait submit to Ottoman rule. The al-Sabah found diplomatic allies in the British Foreign Office. However, under Abdullah II Al-Sabah, Kuwait pursued a general pro-Ottoman foreign policy, formally taking the title of Ottoman provincial governor, this relationship with the Ottoman Empire did result in Ottoman interference with Kuwaiti laws and selection or rulers.^[1]

In May 1896, Shaikh Muhammad Al-Sabah was assassinated by his half-brother, Mubarak, who, in early 1897, was recognized, by the Ottoman sultan, as the qaimmaqam (provincial sub-governor) of Kuwait.^[2]

Mubarak the Great

Mubarak's seizure of the throne via murder left his brother's former allies as a threat to his rule, especially as his opponents gained the backing of the Ottomans.^[1] In July, Mubarak invited the British to deploy gunboats along the Kuwaiti coast. Britain saw Mubarak's desire for an alliance as an opportunity to counteract German influence in the region and so agreed.^[1] This led to what is known as the First Kuwaiti Crisis, in which the Ottomans demanded that the British stop interfering with their empire. In the end, the Ottoman Empire backed down, rather than go to war.

In January 1899, Mubarak signed an agreement with the British which pledged that Kuwait would never cede any territory nor receive agents or representatives of any foreign power without the British Government's consent. In essence, this policy gave Britain control of Kuwait's foreign policy.^[1] The treaty also gave Britain responsibility for Kuwait's national security. In return, Britain agreed to grant an annual subsidy of 15,000 Indian rupees (£1,500) to the ruling family. In 1911, Mubarak raised taxes. Therefore, three wealthy business men Ibrahim Al-Mudhaf, Helal Al-Mutairi, and Shamlan Ali bin Saif Al-Roumi (brother of Hussain Ali bin Saif Al-Roumi), led a protest against Mubarak by making Bahrain their main trade point, which negatively affected the Kuwaiti economy. However, Mubarak went to Bahrain and apologized for raising taxes and the three business men returned to Kuwait. In 1915, Mubarak the Great died and was succeeded by his son Jaber II Al-Sabah, who reigned for just over one year until his death in early 1917. His brother Sheikh Salim Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah succeeded him.

Anglo-Ottoman convention

The Red Fort in Al Jahra.

Despite the Kuwaiti government's desire to either be independent or under British rule, in the Anglo-Ottoman Convention of 1913, the British concurred with the Ottoman Empire in defining Kuwait as an autonomous caza of the Ottoman Empire and that the Shaikhs of Kuwait were not independent leaders, but rather qaimmaqams (provincial sub-governors) of the Ottoman government.

The convention ruled that Shaikh Mubarak had authority over an area extending out to a radius of 80 km, from the capital. This region was marked by a red circle and included the islands of Auhah, Bubiyan, Failaka, Kubbar, Mashian, and Warba. A green circle designated an area extending out an additional 100 km, in radius, within which the qaimmaqam was authorized to collect tribute and taxes from the natives.

Post-Ottoman history

Border War with Najd

After World War I, the Ottoman Empire was defeated and the British invalidated the Anglo-Ottoman Convention, declaring Kuwait to be an independent sheikhdom under British protectorate. The power vacuum left by the fall of the Ottomans sharpened conflict between Kuwait and Najd. Shaikh Salim Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah insisted that Kuwait was in full control of all territory out to a radius of 140 km from the capital; however, the ruler of Najd, Abdul Aziz ibn Abdul Rahman ibn Saud, argued, in September 1920, that the borders of Kuwait did not extend past the walls of the capital. ibn Saud noted that the Convention had never been ratified and that Kuwait was not effectively in control of the disputed territory.

In May 1921, ibn Saud's Wahhabi Bedouins of Nejd attacked a Kuwaiti detachment in southern Kuwait, forcing its retreat. In October they raided Jahra, 40 km from the capital battles occurred in which the Kuwaitis were mostly victorious. In response, the British deployed gunboats, armored cars and aircraft. The Bedouins withdrew.

Uqair protocol

In response to the various Bedouin raids, the British High Commissioner in Baghdad, Sir Percy Cox, imposed the Uqair Protocol of 1922 which defined the boundaries between Iraq and Nejd and between Kuwait and Nejd.

On 1 April 1923, Shaikh Ahmad al-Sabah wrote the British Political Agent in Kuwait, Major John More, "I still do not know what the border between Iraq and Kuwait is, I shall be glad if you will kindly give me this information." More, upon learning that al-Sabah claimed the outer green line of the Anglo-Ottoman Convention (4 April), would relay the information to Sir Percy.

On 19 April, Sir Percy stated that the British government recognized the outer line of the Convention as the border between Iraq and Kuwait. This decision limited Iraq's access to the Persian Gulf at 58 km of mostly marshy and swampy coastline. As this would make it difficult for Iraq to become a naval power (the territory did not include any deepwater harbours), the Iraqi King Faisal I (whom the British installed as a puppet king in Iraq) did not agree to the plan. However, as his country was under British mandate, he had little say in the matter. Iraq and Kuwait would formally ratify the border in August. The border was re-recognized in 1932.

1920s–1940s

Kuwait was recognized as a separate province from Iraq and given autonomy under Ottoman suzerainty in the draft Anglo-Ottoman Convention, however this was not signed before the outbreak of the first World War. The border was revisited by a memorandum sent by the British high commissioner for Iraq in 1923, which became the basis for Kuwait's northern border. In Iraq's 1932 application to the League of Nations it included information about its borders, including its border with Kuwait, where it accepted the boundary established in 1923.^[3]

The 1920s and 1930s saw the collapse of the pearl fishery and with it Kuwait's economy. This is attributed to the invention of the artificial cultivation of pearls.

The discovery of oil in Kuwait, in 1938, revolutionized the sheikdom's economy and made it a valuable asset to Britain. In 1941 on the same day as the German invasion of the USSR (22 June) the British took total control over Iraq and Kuwait. (The British and Soviets would invade the neighboring Iran in September of that year).

Further information: History of Kuwait

References

↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Crystal, Jill. "Kuwait: Ruling Family". Persian Gulf States: A Country Study. Library of Congress. Retrieved 5 March 2011.
↑ 2.0 2.1 Anscombe 1997, p.
↑ Crystal, Jill. "Kuwait – Persian Gulf War". The Persian Gulf States: A Country Study. Library of Congress. Retrieved 5 March 2011.

Territories of the British Empire and the United Kingdom

Legend: Current territory; Former territory; * Now a Commonwealth realm; Now a member of the Commonwealth of Nations

Europe

1708–1757 Minorca Since 1713 Gibraltar 1763–1782 Minorca 1798–1802 Minorca 1800–1813 Malta (Protectorate) 1813–1964 Malta (Colony) 1807–1890 Heligoland 1809–1864 Ionian Islands 1878-1960 Cyprus 1921–1937 Irish Free State

North America

17th century and before		18th century	19th and 20th century

1579 New Albion 1583–1907 Newfoundland 1605–1979 *Saint Lucia 1607–1776 Virginia Since 1619 Bermuda 1620–1691 Plymouth Colony 1623–1883 Saint Kitts (*Saint Kitts & Nevis) 1624–1966 *Barbados 1625–1650 Saint Croix 1627–1979 *Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 1628–1883 Nevis (*Saint Kitts & Nevis) 1629–1691 Massachusetts Bay Colony 1632–1776 Maryland since 1632 Montserrat 1632–1860 Antigua (*Antigua & Barbuda) 1636–1776 Connecticut 1636–1776 Rhode Island 1637–1662 New Haven Colony	1643–1860 Bay Islands Since 1650 Anguilla 1655–1850 Mosquito Coast (protectorate) 1655–1962 *Jamaica 1663–1712 Carolina 1664–1776 New York 1665–1674 and 1702–1776 New Jersey Since 1666 British Virgin Islands Since 1670 Cayman Islands 1670–1973 *Bahamas 1670–1870 Rupert's Land 1671–1816 Leeward Islands 1674–1702 East Jersey 1674–1702 West Jersey 1680–1776 New Hampshire 1681–1776 Pennsylvania 1686–1689 Dominion of New England 1691–1776 Massachusetts	1701–1776 Delaware 1712–1776 North Carolina 1712–1776 South Carolina 1713–1867 Nova Scotia 1733–1776 Georgia 1762–1974 *Grenada 1763–1978 Dominica 1763–1873 Prince Edward Island 1763–1791 Quebec 1763–1783 East Florida 1763–1783 West Florida 1784–1867 New Brunswick 1791–1841 Lower Canada 1791–1841 Upper Canada Since 1799 Turks and Caicos Islands	1818–1846 Columbia District/Oregon Country¹ 1833–1960 Windward Islands 1833–1960 Leeward Islands 1841–1867 Province of Canada 1849–1866 Vancouver Island 1853–1863 Colony of the Queen Charlotte Islands 1858–1866 British Columbia 1859–1870 North-Western Territory 1860–1981 *British Antigua and Barbuda 1862–1863 Stikine Territory 1866–1871 Vancouver Island and British Columbia 1867–1931 *Dominion of Canada² 1871–1964 British Honduras (*Belize) 1882–1983 *Saint Kitts and Nevis 1889–1962 Trinidad and Tobago 1907–1949 Dominion of Newfoundland³ 1958–1962 West Indies Federation

1. Occupied jointly with the United States.
2. In 1931, Canada and other British dominions obtained self-government through the Statute of Westminster. See Canada's name.
3. Gave up self-rule in 1934, but remained a de jure Dominion until it joined Canada in 1949.

South America

1651–1667 Willoughbyland (Suriname) 1670–1688 Saint Andrew and Providence Islands⁴ 1831–1966 British Guiana (Guyana) Since 1833 Falkland Islands⁵ Since 1908 South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands⁵

4. Now the San Andrés y Providencia Department of Colombia. 5. Occupied by Argentina during the Falklands War of April–June 1982.

Africa

17th and 18th centuries	19th century		20th century

Since 1658 Saint Helena¹⁴ 1792–1961 Sierra Leone 1795–1803 Cape Colony	Since 1815 Ascension Island¹⁴ Since 1816 Tristan da Cunha¹⁴ 1806–1910 Cape Colony 1807–1808 Madeira 1810–1968 Mauritius 1816–1965 The Gambia 1856–1910 Natal 1868–1966 Basutoland (Lesotho) 1874–1957 Gold Coast (Ghana) 1882–1922 Egypt	1884–1966 Bechuanaland (Botswana) 1884–1960 British Somaliland 1887–1897 Zululand 1890–1962 Uganda 1890–1963 Zanzibar (Tanzania) 1891–1964 Nyasaland (Malawi) 1891–1907 British Central Africa Protectorate 1893–1968 Swaziland 1895–1920 East Africa Protectorate 1899–1956 Anglo-Egyptian Sudan	1900–1914 Northern Nigeria 1900–1914 Southern Nigeria 1900–1910 Orange River Colony 1900–1910 Transvaal Colony 1906–1954 Nigeria Colony 1910–1931 South Africa 1914–1954 Nigeria Colony and Protectorate 1915–1931 South West Africa (Namibia) 1919–1960 Cameroons (Cameroon)⁶ 1920–1963 Kenya 1922–1961 Tanganyika (Tanzania)⁶ 1923–1965 Southern Rhodesia (Zimbabwe)⁷ 1924–1964 Northern Rhodesia (Zambia) 1954–1960 Nigeria 1979–1980 Southern Rhodesia (Zimbabwe)⁷

6. League of Nations mandate.
7. Self-governing Southern Rhodesia unilaterally declared independence in 1965 (as Rhodesia) and continued as an unrecognised state until the 1979 Lancaster House Agreement. After recognised independence in 1980, Zimbabwe was a member of the Commonwealth until it withdrew in 2003.

Asia

17th and 18th century	19th century		20th century

1685–1824 Bencoolen (Sumatra) 1702–1705 Con Dao 1757–1947 Bengal (West Bengal (India) and Bangladesh) 1762–1764 Manila and Cavite 1786-1946 Penang 1795–1948 Ceylon (Sri Lanka) 1796–1965 Maldives	1812–1824 Banka (Sumatra) and Billiton (Sumatra) 1819–1826 British Malaya (Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore) 1826–1946 Straits Settlements 1839–1967 Colony of Aden 1839–1842 Afghanistan 1841–1997 Hong Kong 1841–1946 Kingdom of Sarawak (Malaysia) 1848–1946 Crown colony of Labuan 1858–1947 British India (India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, Burma)	1879–1919 Afghanistan 1882–1963 British North Borneo (Malaysia) 1885–1946 Unfederated Malay States 1888–1984 Sultanate of Brunei 1888–1946 Sultanate of Sulu 1891–1971 Muscat and Oman protectorate 1892–1971 Trucial States 1895–1946 Federated Malay States 1898–1930 Weihai Garrison 1878–1960 Cyprus	1907-1949 Bhutan (protectorate) 1918–1961 Kuwait protectorate 1920–1932 Iraq⁸ 1921–1946 Transjordan⁸ 1923–1948 Palestine⁸ 1945–1946 South Vietnam 1946–1963 Sarawak (Malaysia) 1946–1963 Singapore 1946–1948 Malayan Union 1948–1957 Federation of Malaya (Malaysia) Since 1960 Akrotiri and Dhekelia (before as part of Cyprus) Since 1965 British Indian Ocean Territory (before as part of Mauritius and the Seychelles)

⁸ League of Nations mandate. Iraq's mandate was not enacted and replaced by the Anglo-Iraqi Treaty

Oceania

18th and 19th centuries		20th century

1788–1901 New South Wales 1803–1901 Van Diemen's Land/Tasmania 1807–1863 Auckland Islands⁹ 1824–1980 New Hebrides (Vanuatu) 1824–1901 Queensland 1829–1901 Swan River Colony/Western Australia 1836–1901 South Australia since 1838 Pitcairn Islands	1841–1907 Colony of New Zealand 1851–1901 Victoria 1874–1970 Fiji¹⁰ 1877–1976 British Western Pacific Territories 1884–1949 Territory of Papua 1888–1901 Cook Islands⁹ 1889–1948 Union Islands (Tokelau)⁹ 1892–1979 Gilbert and Ellice Islands¹¹ 1893–1978 British Solomon Islands¹²	1900–1970 Tonga (protected state) 1900–1974 Niue⁹ 1901–1942 *Commonwealth of Australia 1907–1953 *Dominion of New Zealand 1919–1942 Nauru 1945–1968 Nauru 1919–1949 Territory of New Guinea 1949–1975 Territory of Papua and New Guinea¹³

9. Now part of the *Realm of New Zealand.
10. Suspended member.
11. Now Kiribati and *Tuvalu.
12. Now the *Solomon Islands.
13. Now *Papua New Guinea.

Antarctica and South Atlantic

Since 1658 Saint Helena¹⁴ Since 1815 Ascension Island¹⁴ Since 1816 Tristan da Cunha¹⁴ Since 1908 British Antarctic Territory¹⁵ 1841-1933 Australian Antarctic Territory (Transferred to the Commonwealth of Australia) 1841-1947 Ross Dependency (Transferred to the Realm of New Zealand)

14. Since 2009 part of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha; Ascension Island (1922—) and Tristan da Cunha (1938—) were previously dependencies of Saint Helena. 15. Both claimed in 1908; territories formed in 1962 (British Antarctic Territory) and 1985 (South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands).

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