Oil reserves were discovered in 1938. From 1946 to 1982, the country underwent large-scale modernization. In the 1980s, Kuwait experienced a period of geopolitical instability and an economic crisis following the stock market crash. In 1990, Kuwait was invaded by Iraq. The Iraqi occupation came to an end in 1991 after military intervention by United States-led forces. At the end of the war, there were extensive efforts to revive the economy and rebuild national infrastructure.Kuwait is a constitutional emirate with a high income economy backed by the world's sixth largest oil reserves. The Kuwaiti dinar is the highest valued currency in the world.[6] According to the World Bank, the country has the fourth highest per capita income in the world. The constitution was promulgated in 1962, making Kuwait the most democratic country in the region.From 2001 to 2009, Kuwait had the highest Human Development Index ranking in the Arab world. Only 30% of the population are Kuwaiti citizens, while 70% of the population are expatriates.[14] Kuwait ranks highly in regional metrics of gender equality,[15] as it has the region's highest Global Gender Gap ranking.In 1613, the town of Kuwait was founded in modern-day Kuwait City. In 1716, the Bani Utubs settled in Kuwait. At the time of the arrival of the Utubs, Kuwait was inhabited by a few fishermen and primarily functioned as a fishing village.[19] In the eighteenth century, Kuwait prospered and rapidly became the principal commercial center for the transit of goods between India, Muscat, Baghdad and Arabia.[20][21] By the mid 1700s, Kuwait had already established itself as the major trading route from the Persian Gulf to Aleppo.During the Persian siege of Basra in 1775–79, Iraqi merchants took refuge in Kuwait and were partly instrumental in the expansion of Kuwait's boat-building and trading activities.[23] As a result, Kuwait's maritime commerce boomed.[23] Between the years 1775 and 1779, the Indian trade routes with Baghdad, Aleppo, Smyrna and Constantinople were diverted to Kuwait.[22][24] The East India Company was diverted to Kuwait in 1792.[25] The East India Company secured the sea routes between Kuwait, India and the east coasts of Africa.[25] After the Persians withdrew from Basra in 1779, Kuwait continued to attract trade away from Basra.Kuwait was the center of boat building in the Persian Gulf region.[27][28] During the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, vessels made in Kuwait carried the bulk of trade between the ports of India, East Africa and the Red Sea.[29][30][31] Kuwaiti ship vessels were renowned throughout the Indian Ocean.[32] Regional geopolitical turbulence helped foster economic prosperity in Kuwait in the second half of the 18th century.[33] Kuwait became prosperous due to Basra's instability in the late 18th century.[34] In the late 18th century, Kuwait partly functioned as a haven for Basra's merchants fleeing Ottoman government persecution.[35] According to Palgrave, Kuwaitis developed a reputation as the best sailors in the Persian Gulf.The Sheikhdom of Kuwait became a British protectorate in 1899 (until 1961) after the Anglo-Kuwaiti agreement of 1899 was signed between Sheikh Mubarak Al Sabah and the British government in India due to severe threats to Kuwait's independence from the Ottoman Empire.Celebration at Seif Palace in 1944.The Great Depression negatively impacted Kuwait's economy starting in the late 1920s.[38] International trading was one of Kuwait's main sources of income before oil.[38] Kuwaiti merchants were mostly intermediary merchants.[38] As a result of European decline of demand for goods from India and Africa, the economy of Kuwait suffered. The decline in international trade resulted in an increase in gold smuggling by Kuwaiti ships to India.[38] Some Kuwaiti merchant families became rich due to gold smuggling to India.[39] Kuwait's pearling industry also collapsed as a result of the worldwide economic depression.[39] At its height, Kuwait's pearling industry led the world's luxury market, regularly sending out between 750 and 800 ship vessels to meet the European elite's need for pearls.[39] During the economic depression, luxuries like pearls were in little demand.[39] The Japanese invention of cultured pearls also contributed to the collapse of Kuwait's pearling industry.
0 comments:
Post a Comment