Editing History of Kuwait (section)

===Early growth (1760–1899)===
====Economy====
In the latter half of the eighteenth century, Kuwait gradually became a principal commercial center for the transit of goods between [[India]], [[Muscat, Oman|Muscat]], [[Baghdad]], Persia, and [[Arabia]].<ref>{{cite book|url=http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/1266/1/1266.pdf|title=The impact of economic activities on the social and political structures of Kuwait (1896-1946)}}</ref><ref name=sail>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/shadowsonsandthe00bell|url-access=registration|title=Shadows on the Sand: The Memoirs of Sir Gawain Bell|publisher=C. Hurst|editor=[[Gawain Bell]]|page=[https://archive.org/details/shadowsonsandthe00bell/page/222 222]|year=1983|isbn=9780905838922|last1=Bell|first1=Sir Gawain}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TVfaAAAAMAAJ&q=Kuwait+became+an+important+trading+port+for+import+and+export+of+goods+from+India,+Africa+and+Arabia.|title=ʻAlam-i Nisvāṉ - Volume 2, Issues 1-2|page=18|quote=Kuwait became an important trading port for import and export of goods from India, Africa and Arabia.|year=1995}}</ref> By the late-1700s, Kuwait had already established itself as a trading route from the Persian Gulf to Aleppo.<ref name=kw/> During the Persian siege of Basra in 1775–1779, [[Iraqi people|Iraqi merchants]] took refuge in Kuwait and were partly instrumental in the expansion of Kuwait's boatbuilding and trading activities.<ref name=boom>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/beyondstormgulf00benn|url-access=registration|title=Beyond the Storm: A Gulf Crisis Reader|publisher=Olive Branch Press|editor=Phyllis Bennis|pages=[https://archive.org/details/beyondstormgulf00benn/page/42 42]|isbn=9780940793828|last1=Bennis|first1=Phyllis|last2=Moushabeck|first2=Michel|date=1990-12-31}}</ref> As a result, Kuwait's maritime commerce boomed.<ref name=boom/>

[[File:MarinetimeMKuwaitAlshami.jpg|thumb|[[Al-Hashemi-II|Marine Museum]] in Kuwait City. Demonstrates the founding of Kuwait as a sea port for merchants.]]
Between the years 1775 and 1779, the Indian trade routes with Baghdad, Aleppo, [[Smyrna]] and [[Constantinople]] were diverted to Kuwait.<ref name=kw>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=R0NH1CbXf24C&pg=PA66|title=Constancy and Change in Contemporary Kuwait City|editor=Mohammad Khalid A. Al-Jassar|year=2009|pages=66|isbn=9781109229349}}{{Dead link|date=August 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5xVSkGtcT5YC&pg=PA4|title=The Kuwait Crisis: Basic Documents|page=4|year=1991|isbn=9780521463089|last1=Lauterpacht|first1=E.|last2=Greenwood|first2=C. J.|last3=Weller|first3=Marc|last4=Bethlehem|first4=Daniel|publisher=Cambridge University Press }}</ref> The [[East India Company]] was diverted to Kuwait in 1792.<ref name=eas>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=R0NH1CbXf24C&pg=PA67|title=Constancy and Change in Contemporary Kuwait City |page=67|year=2009|isbn=9781109229349 }}</ref> The East India Company secured the sea routes between Kuwait, [[India]] and the east coasts of [[Africa]].<ref name=eas/> After the Persians withdrew from Basra in 1779, Kuwait continued to attract trade away from Basra.<ref name=mer>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t6v2HHoWgbsC&pg=PA72|title=Merchants, Mamluks, and Murder: The Political Economy of Trade in Eighteenth-Century Basra|author=Thabit Abdullah|date=January 2001|page=72|publisher=SUNY Press |isbn=9780791448076}}</ref> The flight of many of Basra's leading merchants to Kuwait continued to play a significant role in Basra's commercial stagnation well into the 1850s.<ref name=mer/>

Regional geopolitical turbulence helped foster economic prosperity in Kuwait in the second half of the 18th century.<ref name="jasser">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=R0NH1CbXf24C&pg=PA68|title=Constancy and Change in Contemporary Kuwait City|editor= Mohammad Khalid A. Al-Jassar|pages=68|isbn=9781109229349}}</ref> Kuwait became prosperous due to Basra's instability in the late 18th century.<ref name=w>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iT_8KzTECwMC&pg=PA18|title=Waqai-i manazil-i Rum: Tipu Sultan's mission to Constantinople|editor=Mohibbul Hasan|year=2007|page=18|isbn=9788187879565|quote=For owing to Basra's misfortunes, Kuwait and Zubarah became rich.|last1=Hasan|first1=Mohibbul|publisher=Aakar Books }}</ref> In the late 18th century, Kuwait partly functioned as a haven for Basra's merchants fleeing [[Ottoman government]] persecution.<ref name=basra>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g5MewSBHkG4C&pg=PA114|title=The Politics of Regional Trade in Iraq, Arabia, and the Gulf, 1745-1900 |editor=Hala Mundhir Fattah |year=1997 |page=114|isbn=9780791431139 |last1=Fattah |first1=Hala Mundhir |publisher=SUNY Press }}</ref> 

In 1776, Sabah I died and was succeeded by his youngest son, [[Abdullah I Al-Sabah|Abdullah]]. Shortly before Sabah's death, in 1766, the al-Khalifa and, soon after, the al-Jalahima, left Kuwait en masse for [[Zubarah]] 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 (1776–1814), 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.<ref name="locrule" />

Kuwait was the center of [[boat building]] in the Persian Gulf region.<ref>{{cite book|url=http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/1266/1/1266.pdf|title=The impact of economic activities on the social and political structures of Kuwait (1896-1946)|page=108}}</ref> Kuwaiti ship vessels were renowned throughout the [[Indian Ocean]].<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zXXGAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA93|title=The Postal Agencies in Eastern Arabia and the Gulf |editor=Neil Donaldson|year=2008 |page=93|isbn=9781409209423 |last1=Donaldson |first1=Neil |publisher=Lulu.com }}</ref><ref name=al>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/doctormaryinarab00alli|url-access=registration|title=Doctor Mary in Arabia: Memoirs|publisher=University of Texas Press|author=[[Mary Bruins Allison]]|page=[https://archive.org/details/doctormaryinarab00alli/page/n215 1]|year=1994|isbn=9780292704565}}</ref> Its sailors developed a positive reputation in the Persian Gulf.<ref name=sail/><ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QjzYdCxumFcC&pg=PA321|title=Encyclopedia of the Ottoman Empire|year=2009|page=321|isbn=9781438110257|last1=́Goston|first1=Ga ́bor A.|last2=Masters|first2=Bruce Alan|publisher=Infobase }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DRtWm-UkS-oC&pg=PA48|title=Seafaring in the Arabian Gulf and Oman: People of the Dhow|editor=Dionisius A. Agius|year=2012|page=48|isbn=9781136201820|last1=Agius|first1=Dionisius A.|publisher=Routledge }}</ref> In the 19th century, Kuwait became significant in the [[horse trading|horse trade]],<ref name=hor>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g5MewSBHkG4C&pg=PA181|title=The Politics of Regional Trade in Iraq, Arabia, and the Gulf, 1745-1900 |editor=Hala Mundhir Fattah |year=1997 |page=181|isbn=9780791431139 |last1=Fattah |first1=Hala Mundhir |publisher=SUNY Press }}</ref> horses were regularly shipped by the way of sailing boats from Kuwait.<ref name=hor/> In the mid 19th century, it was estimated that Kuwait was exporting an average of 800 horses to India annually.<ref name=jasser/>

====Assassination of Muhammad Bin Sabah====
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.<ref name="ReferenceA">{{Harvnb|Anscombe|1997|p=6|date=September 2010}}</ref> The Ottomans were bankrupt and when the European banks took control of the Ottoman budget in 1881, additional income was required from Kuwait. [[Midhat Pasha]], the [[List of Ottoman governors of Baghdad|governor of Iraq]], demanded that Kuwait submit financially 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.<ref name="locrule"/> 

In May 1896, [[Sheikh|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.<ref name="ReferenceA"/>

====Mubarak the Great====
{{main|Mubarak Al-Sabah}}
[[File:Mubarak Al-Sabah of Kuwait.jpg|thumb|[[Mubarak Al-Sabah]] "the Great" (1837–1915)]] 
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.<ref name="locrule" /> In July, Mubarak invited the British to deploy [[gunboat]]s 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.<ref name="locrule" /> 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.<ref name="locrule"/> The treaty also gave Britain responsibility for Kuwait's national security. In return, Britain agreed to grant an annual subsidy of 15,000 Indian [[rupee]]s (£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.

During the reign of Mubarak, Kuwait was dubbed the "[[Marseille]] of the Persian Gulf" because its economic vitality attracted a large variety of people.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ncfIAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA272|title=The Persian Gulf in History|page=272 |editor=Lawrence G. Potter |year=2009|isbn=9780230618459|last1=Potter|first1=L.|publisher=Springer }}</ref><ref name=ara>{{cite web|url=http://ed-thelen.org/LordOfArabia.html|title=Lord of Arabia|pages=18–19|editor=[[Harold Courtenay Armstrong|H. C. Armstrong]]|year=1905|quote=Part II Chapter VI}}</ref> The population was cosmopolitan and ethnically diverse, including Arabs, Persians, Africans, [[History of the Jews in Kuwait|Jews]], and [[Armenians in Kuwait#History|Armenians]].<ref name=ara /> Kuwait was known for its [[religious tolerance]].<ref name="pa">{{cite book| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yXgsBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA165|title=Kuwait before Oil: The Dynamics and Morphology of an Arab Port City (Gateways of Asia: Port Cities of Asia in the 13th–20th Centuries)|year=1997|publisher=Routledge |editor=Frank Broeze|isbn=9781136168956}}</ref>

In the first decades of the twentieth century, Kuwait had a well-established elite: wealthy trading families who were linked by marriage and shared economic interests.<ref name=elite>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=D8di8GN_hKsC&pg=PA37|title=Oil and Politics in the Gulf: Rulers and Merchants in Kuwait and Qatar |editor=Jill Crystal |year=1995 |page=37|isbn=9780521466356 |last1=Crystal |first1=Jill |publisher=Cambridge University Press }}</ref> The elite were long-settled, urban, Sunni families, the majority of which claim descent from the original 30 Bani Utubi families.<ref name=elite /> The wealthiest families were trade merchants who acquired their wealth from long-distance commerce, shipbuilding and pearling.<ref name=elite /> They were a cosmopolitan elite, they traveled extensively to India, Africa and Europe.<ref name=elite /> The elite educated their sons abroad more than other Gulf Arab elite.<ref name=elite /> Western visitors noted that Kuwait's elite used European office systems, [[typewriters]] and followed [[European culture]] with curiosity.<ref name=elite /> The richest families were involved in general trade.<ref name=elite /> The merchant families of Al-Ghanim and Al-Hamad were estimated to be worth millions before the 1940s.<ref name=elite />