Editing History of Kuwait (section)

====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/>