IOR/R/15/1/495

This file contains correspondence between British officials regarding date gardens in southern Iraq owned by the rulers of Kuwait and Mohammerah. In particular, the correspondence concerns the Government of Iraq's decision to end the immunity from taxation (on the gardens) that had been granted by the British Government to the former ruler of Kuwait, Shaikh Mubārak Āl Ṣabāḥ and the Shaikh of Mohammerah, Khaz‘al bin Jābir al-Ka‘bī in return for their military support against the Ottoman Empire in World War 1.

The correspondence discusses in detail a number of cases in the Iraqi courts regarding the gardens (by that time owned by the ruler of Kuwait, Shaikh Aḥmad al-Jābir Āl Ṣabāḥ) and attempts made by British officials in Iraq and Kuwait to mediate between the two sides. In the correspondence, British officials discuss whether or not the British Government should compensate Shaikh Aḥmad for the amount of tax he had been forced to pay by the Government of Iraq and exactly what area of land was covered by the 1914 promise. More broadly, the correspondence is focused on how the disagreement can be settled permanently and whether an agreement incorporating border demarcations and anti-smuggling measures could form a part of any final settlement between Kuwait and Iraq. British officials also discuss whether an Egyptian lawyer should be hired to serve Shaikh Aḥmad and how much the Shaikh would be willing to contribute to the costs of this (ff. 38-43).

The file also contains discussions amongst British officials following the death of Khaz‘al bin Jābir al-Ka‘bī concerning whether or not the British promise made in 1914 was applicable to his descendants as well as the practical logistics of dealing with his numerous heirs. This includes direct correspondence between British officials and the administrator of Khaz'al al- al-Ka‘bī's estate in Iraq, Muhammad Ahmad.