Historical Profile of Dawlat Al-Kuwait: Emergence, Occupation and Re-Emergence
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Journal of the Punjab University Historical Society Volume No. 32, Issue No. 1, January - June 2019 Farzana Rizvi * Historical Profile Of Dawlat Al-Kuwait: Emergence, Occupation And Re-Emergence Abstract The purpose of this paper is to study the historical profile of Kuwait and especially how it was emerged as an independent state, invasion of Iraqi forces which took control of Kuwait city and its resurgence, reemergence or revival as an independent state. Both states already had conflicts on different issues included oil and territories. This research further analysis the efforts of multilateral forces and UN to liberated Kuwait from Iraq’s occupation. It examines the status of Kuwait, how the conflict emerged between Iraq and Kuwait, UN noticed and formed a mission. The study employed a concurrent mixed methods of qualitative research; descriptive and narrative and research design drawn from pragmatic paradigm. Data was collected from primary and secondary sources; UN Reports, articles and books. The research suggests that UN efforts should be acknowledged. In a short span of time they with the help of multilateral forces liberated Kuwait. At the end the researcher should hope that UN and other powers should continue to perform positive role for global peace and they try to remove the root causes of any conflict. Key Words: Kuwait, Formation, Iraqi Occupation, Independence Introduction Dawlat al-Kuwait or State of Kuwait commonly known as Kuwait is an Arab country of Western Asia situated at the Northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of Persian Gulf. Kuwait is the liberal state among the Arab world with the most free press and civil liberties. She is the smallest country of the world in terms of land area of 24,280 sq km; it depended on nine islands.1 The word „Kuwait‟ is the Arabic diminutive of kut, which means a castle or fort and is a common place- name in the region. Normally a kut lies near the sea or a river. “Kut al-Amara on the Euphrates was the site of a painful British surrender to the Turks in the World War I”.2 The town of Kuwait, “which is the capital, a port and commercial centre of the present state, lies on the Southern shore of a great sweeping bay which is situated at the north-western end of the Arabian Gulf”.3 The other cities are Hawali and Ahmadi. Population is good nature, mixed and vicious. In 1961 at the end of British protectorate, “it became as an independent state established herself as Constitutional Monarch, parliamentary democracy with the unitary state. The economy of the state depends on oil reliant and 80 % of crude oil is exported”.4 The discoveries of oil had been changing the lives of Kuwait for * Dr. Farzana Rizvi, Visiting Scholar, University of the Punjab, Lahore. 51 JPUHS, Vol.32, No.1, January - June, 2019 no more than a single generation.5 Yet the change had been far more than superficial. “It is not only that real poverty has been eliminated and affluence had become the norm, to the extent that a Kuwait millionaire is someone of modest means; despite the vigorous survival of traditional social values the Kuwait outlook on the rest of the world is taken for granted by its people”.6 From 1968 onwards, however, Kuwait was aiming to secure reasonable participation in the ownership of the Kuwait Oil Company. Oil was discovered in 1938 at Burgan, the world‟s largest oil field but full exploitation began only in 1945, after the war, export started only in 1964 when production was about 6 million barrels a year. It rose to 1,200 million in 1972.7 Its production further extended over the time. Historical Profile of Kuwait Kuwait had a long history. The emergence of the first civilized communities in the region of Mesopotamia is no matter for conjecture for 3,000 years and more, had been excavated and examined (through several thousand had yet to be translated), and made to divulge legends and historical facts from which a vast body of knowledge has been derived.8 It took place in comparatively recent times between 130 million and 70 million years ago. That era embraced the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous periods.9 Kuwait‟s political foundation dates from 1710 when the Al Sabah family, descendants of the Beduin Atib or Utub clan, who were of the Dahamshah branch of the Amarat tribe, left their homeland in the inner Najd and settled in this relatively hospitable coastal strip. The first act of government was in 1956 when Sheikh Sabah I negotiated with Turkish Governor at Basra for the independence of the territory.10 Several other families later to become prominent merchants of Kuwait such as Al Ghanium, the Shemlan and Al Saleh also trace their origin to those early settlers.11 In the crucial years when the Kuwait‟s, under the leadership of the Al Sabah family, “were establishing themselves as an independent entity, they were helped by the lack of any stable centralizing power in the region”.12 As all the nomadic tribesmen who settled on the coast, “the Utab found that they had not to learn a new life in trading, seafaring, fishing and pearling, but also to adapt their political organization. Kuwait began to prosper under its new ruler, Sheikh Sabah (1952- 64). A mud wall around the town for protection, and authority was extended into the interior and over Failaka and other offshore islands”.13 Early visitors noted evidence of the Kuwaitis success as traders and pearlers. Carstin Niebuhr of the 1760 Danish expedition reported that Kuwait had a fleet of 800 small ships. When Sheikh Sabah died in 1764 his youngest son, Abdallah was elected by the other most suitable member of the Sabah family. Under Sheikh Abdullah the separation of powers in the Kuwaiti community had reached a new stage of development as the Sabah family gave up sharing in the merchants profits in order to devote themselves entirely to the affairs of government.14 British acknowledged that the Sheikh and his heirs had sole control of the internal administration of the state, including the collection of customs dues. Britain retained the right to relinquish the lease at any time and in fact gave it up in 1922 when the danger from Turkey was past. In 1913 an Anglo-Turkish agreement defined the boundaries of Kuwait.15 At that time Kuwait become noticeable for world. 52 Historical Profile Of Dawlat Al-Kuwait: Emergence, Occupation And Re-Emergence Kuwait‟s wealth, its rise to affluence is much like a dream, the stuff Arabian Nights is made of and its strategic location at the head of the Persian Gulf attracted British. In the 1890, Kaiser Wilhelm II sought to use Kuwait as a terminus in his Middle Eastern railroad scheme.16 Britain stepped in and established its protectorate over the Kingdom. Sheikh Mubarak-ibn-Sabah was made the governor of Kuwait. He signed a pact with Britain who was building a system of subsidiary co-operation with small Arab principalities.17 The World War I ended in favor of Britain. Kuwait was not handed over to Iraq, the Sheikh of Kuwait was given the status of a Saudi Arabia was marked.18 Britain was never interested in solving the claim of Iraq on this small principality. From 1921-1950, Sheikh Ahmed-ibn-Jabir ruled over Kuwait.19 With the defeat of Turkey and Germany in 1918, Britain was left in an unchallenged position in the Gulf. Britain and France had already made plans to partition the former Arab provinces of the Ottoman Empire between them but France‟s concerns in the Arab world were concentrated on the Maghreb and the Levant states.20 Their US ally, after playing a leading role in the Paris Peace Conference following the war, withdrew into isolation. The Russian had already abandoned their imperial interests in the Middle East after the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution.21 That was early in 1958, when the little desert emirate was only just beginning to attract international attention as the first of the kind to become vastly wealthy state.22 The old mud walls of the city had recently been pulled down and the first and only modern multi-storied building had been constructed opposite the Jahra Gate, which had been left standing as a symbol of the past.23 Sometime before Kuwait achieved full independence and membership of the Arab League and UN, it had begun to shape a role for itself in the international community. It had already joined the economic institutions of the League.24 According to the economic intelligence unit, in 1985, Kuwait had financial resources of $ 90 billion. Out of this, $30 billion were general reserves mostly in liquid Arab assets and $60 billion were invested in the west.25 In 1989, Kuwait earned more from its investments than the revenue due to oil. It is the largest investor in the UK, Japan and Spain, and it was a major purchaser of US treasury bonds and stocks in top seventy firms of New York stock exchange.26 Kuwait‟s investments bring in an income of $ 20 million a day. The Kuwait petroleum corporation is the 12th largest oil company with its offices in London and other major cities of the world.27 Kuwait is now known as one of richest state of the world. Kuwait-Iraq Conflict Kuwait lies between two powerful neighbors Iraq and Saudi Arabia. There was dispute between Kuwait and Iraq over two islands under Kuwait‟s sovereignty.28 “The territorial disputes between Iraq and Kuwait had its origins in the history of the two entities during the Ottoman Empire.