KUWAIT ON FOCUS

Kuwait :In Focus

Kuwait : Its Origins

Maps of Kuwait

Old

New

Kuwait : Ancient origins/
Archaeological remains

Proximity to Ancient civlization

Archaeologists in Kuwait

Kuwait : Ancient Roots

Material unearthed from
archaeological digs

Reasons for remains from ancient civilizations –
Kuwait was on the trade route

Failaka : An Important Island

Failaka : AN Important Island

Origins of Old Kuwait as a
Sheikhdom

The old town was built around 1716. A fortress or
‘kut’was built by Barrak, Sheikh of the Bani Khalled

In old Kuwait, fishing, trading &
pearl diving was the main work

Pearl Diving : Challenging work

Rulers of Kuwait

Kuwait : 18th to the 20th century

The wall that surrounded Kuwait was built of coral rocks and mud bricks. It was 6.5 kms long with 31 towers & 5 gates.

Kuwait : Trade Routes

Kuwait’s wealth : Its Boats & Ships

The Middle East : A Chess Board

Kuwait : Safe & Free under HH
Sheikh Mubarak AL Kabir

Battle of Jahra 1920

Kuwait & Britain

British Political Agents in Kuwait

The Dicksons

Kuwait : Constitution

Kuwait & OIl

The history of oil in Kuwait
goes back more than a
century, when the
Anglo-Persian Oil
Company (now British
Petroleum) tried to get an
oil concession in Kuwait
as early as 1911

Oil Discovery in the20th century

Amir Sheikh Ahmad Al-JaberAl-Sabah turns the silver wheel to
officially begin exporting the first Kuwaiti oil shipment on the
30th of June1946

BURGAN

Discovered in February
1938, the Burgan field is
one of the oldest and the
world’s second biggest oil
field, after Saudi Arabia’s
Ghawar Oil Field.

Kuwait After Oil

Petrol Stations

Kuwait in the 1950s

Kuwait & English

Kuwait in the sixties

Before 1961, Kuwait used Indian rupee as
its currency

In 1961, Kuwait issued the 1st dinar

Kuwait & Iraq

Kuwait – Iraq time line

Iraq made a first claim on Kuwait in 1938, the same year oil was discovered here.
However, Kuwait was never effectively ruled by Iraq and or the Ottoman Empire. But
Iraq continued its claims especially for Bubiyan and Warbah strategic islands.

On 19th of June 1961, Britain recognized Kuwait as an independent state. Six days
later, Iraq renewed its claim in Kuwait, which was rebuffed first by the British and
then by the Arab League

In 1963, a new Iraqi government took over and they formally recognized both
Kuwait’s independence and, subsequently, its borders. However, they continued to
press for access to the islands.

Gulf War 1990-1991

The Gulf War – 1990 to 1991

August 1990

On 2 August 1990, Iraq
invaded Kuwait to gain
more control over the
lucrative oil supply of the
Middle East.

In response, the United
States and the UN Security
Council demanded that
Iraqi dictator Saddam
Hussein withdraw Iraqi
troops from Kuwait, but
Hussein refused

Operation Desert Storm

Over the course of six
weeks in January and
February 1991, a United
States-led coalition of 34
nations began an intensive
bombing campaign against
Iraq, culminating with a
four-day ground campaign
against Iraqi forces known
as Operation Desert Storm

Cease Fire

With Iraqi resistance
nearing collapse, Bush
declared a ceasefire on
February 28, ending the
Gulf War. According to the
peace terms that Saddam
Hussein accepted, Iraq
would recognize Kuwait’s
sovereignty and get rid of
all its weapons of mass
destruction (including
nuclear, biological and
chemical weapons).

Kuwait : After the Gulf War

After the War

After the War

Kuwait Now