Kuwait

Where the name comes from

Kuwait is an Arabic diminutive of kut, a fort near water, meaning “small fort”.

First people

Ancient Dilmun traders reached Failaka Island, and Arab trading families built up this Gulf pearling port in the 1700s.^1,2

Known for

Kuwait is known for its oil wealth and for the Kuwait Towers, built on the Gulf shore in the 1970s.³

Outside contact

It was under British protection from 1899 to 1961.²

The modern country

Iraq invaded Kuwait on 2 August 1990 and tried to annex it, but a coalition drove out Iraqi forces in 1991.^4,5