Mubarak Al-Sabah anxiety over possible encroachment by the Great Powers, most notably Britain and Russia into the region due to the construction of the Baghdad Railway. They thought that bestowing the title could dissuade any foreign powers from interfering with Kuwait. "See Anglo-Kuwaiti Agreement of 1899" The long Ottoman indecisiveness in naming Mubarak kaymakam, as well as feelings of vulnerability helped pave the way for Mubarak to pursue British ties. On January 18, 1899 Mubarak signed a secret agreement with Major M.J. Meade, British political resident in Bushire, that guarded Kuwait against any outside foreign aggression. It also required Mubarak and his
The Years of Rice and Salt "The Age of Great Progress", is set during the 19th century and begins during a war between the Ottoman Empire and the Indian state of Travancore. The Indians have previously defeated the Mughals and the Safavids and have developed more modern forms of warfare, emphasising surprise and mobility, they have also invented steam engines and ironclad warships which they sail straight to the city of Konstantiniyye and capture it with the aid of military balloons. The Ottomans are defeated easily. A Muslim Armenian doctor named Ismail ibn Mani al-Dir, who had served the Ottoman Sultan, is captured and sent to