Kuwait was an independent Sheikhdom placed under British protection after the World War I.
The postal history of Kuwait begins around 1775, when the East India Company began an overland camel service from the head of the Persian Gulf to Aleppo and Constantinople, as an alternative to slower sea travel around the Arabian Peninsula. This operated until 1795.
After the treaty with the British in 1899, the consul's office handled mail, using stamps sent from Bushire, and forwarding mail to Bushire or putting it on passing ships. The first dedicated post office opened 21 January 1915, and used stamps of India. From 1 August 1921 to April 1941 the office was administered from nearby Basra in Iraq. On 1 April 1923, India stamp were issued with "KUWAIT" overprints, this practice continued for many years.
In 1941 the post office was temporarily closed because of the Anglo-French invasion of Iraq, then re-opened under Indian administration. Owing to wartime exigencies, the office used un-overprinted Indian stamps until 1945, when a new set of Indian stamps was overprinted. This phase came to an end with Indian independence; Kuwait was administered by Pakistan in 1947 and 1948, then by the British government directly from 1 April 1948.
Kuwaitis took over postal administration on 31 January 1959.
The first set of Kuwaiti stamps depicted Sheik 'Abd Allah III al-Salim al-Sabah, and other values a dhow, being used on local mail in 1958. The full set of 13 values went on sale 1 February 1959
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