![]() ![]() The ‘black gold’ brought new found wealth and transformed the desert country and its economy. Kuwait was one of the first places in the region where oil was found. In 1938, prospectors discovered oil – lots of it. Just before the outbreak of World War II, the country’s path took an unexpected turn. ![]() Income from pearls made up three-quarters of Kuwait’s national income. In 1899, under threat from the Ottoman Empire, Kuwait agreed to become a British protectorate, giving the British exclusive rights of access and to trade.īy the early 20th century, there were some 20,000 pearl divers operating from 800 dhows. By the late 19 th century, its wooden dhows were ploughing the seas from East Africa to the Indian subcontinent and its sailors gained a reputation as the best in the region. Kuwait became the centre of boat building in the Gulf, using the best Indian timber. The sheikhdom grew to become a regional trading hub, with boats bringing wares from as far away as Mombasa and Zanzibar and camel caravans carrying them onwards into Arabia. One of them, the al-Sabah family, became the rulers and have governed the country ever since. In the early 18th century a group of Arab tribal families settled in Kuwait. ![]()
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