The Efforts of the Ottoman Empire to Confirm Kuwait’s Subordination to the Basra Province until 1914

Abstract

Britain began its increasing interest in the Arabian Gulf region in the year 1763, and this was accompanied by an increase in the importance of Kuwait after the disasters that befell the Iraqi city of Basra after the spread of the plague epidemic there, and then its occupation by the Persians in 1776. Therefore, the role of Kuwait emerged as a commercial center competing with Basra, and this raised Both Britain and the Ottoman Empire increased the conflict of interests in the region.

In light of this, the Ottoman Empire and its local administrations in Baghdad and Basra sought to re-impose their actual presence on the sheikhdom of Kuwait, which represented for them the final station of the Berlin-Baghdad railway project, as well as to distance the growing British influence in the Arabian Gulf, through which it deliberately interfered in Kuwait’s internal affairs. And encouraging its sheikhs to rebel against the central authority of the Ottoman state, which they followed, leading to placing Kuwait under British protection. Therefore, several attempts were made to return Kuwait to the fold of Ottoman Iraq, and to bring it back under the authority of the Basra state. These attempts continued until the outbreak of World War I.

The beginning was an attempt by the Ottoman governor Namik Pasha in 1866, while the last attempt was on August 2, 1990. We do not rule out that the attempts will be repeated in the future, especially since the recent demarcation of the borders imposed on Iraq cut off additional parts of Iraqi lands that were annexed to Kuwait. This in itself will be sufficient reason to move the issue forward, whether in peace or war, whether that is in the near or distant future.

It seems that the main reason for the failure of these attempts was that the Ottoman Empire was unable, under the general circumstances at the time, to directly confront the British forces in the Arabian Gulf, so it stood unable to intervene directly, and this is what prompted it to seek the help of its agents in the region who were dissatisfied with Sheikh Mubarak to end his authority in Kuwait. This was not enough, as the British pledged to protect Sheikh Mubarak in order to serve their growing interests in the Gulf and their quest for complete control over the entire region, and this is what happened later.