Aden (colony)
Encyclopedia
The Colony of Aden or Aden Colony ( ) was a British
Crown colony
from 1937 to 1963, and consisted of the port city of Aden
and its immediate surroundings (an area of 192 km² (74.1 sq mi).
Prior to 1937, Aden had been governed as part of British India (originally as the Aden Settlement under the Bombay Presidency
, and then as a "Chief Commissioner's province"). Under the Government of India Act 1935
the territory was detached from British India, and was established as a separate colony of the United Kingdom; this separation took effect on April 1, 1937.
On 18 January 1963, the colony was reconstituted as the State of Aden (Arabic: ولاية عدن Wilāyat ʿAdan), within the new Federation of South Arabia
. The federation in turn became the People's Republic of South Yemen
on 30 November 1967, marking the end of British rule.
The hinterland of the Colony of Aden was separately governed as the Aden Protectorate
.
landed Royal Marines
at Aden to occupy the territory and stop attacks by pirates against British shipping to India
. British influence then began to extend inland, both west and east, with the establishment of Aden protectorate
. The Western Aden Protectorate was a nearby territory of 75 sq. miles that was ceded to Britain
by Sultan Muhsin bin Fadl, while the Eastern Aden Protectorate composed of the Arab sheikdoms of Hadhramaut and the island of Socotra. Aden then became an important transit port for trade between British India and the Red Sea
, and when the Suez Canal
was opened in 1869, it came an important coaling station.
In the year 1937, Aden became separated from the British Indian Empire and became a colony in its own right. The Colony of Aden was a British Crown colony from 1937 to 1963, and consisted of the port city of Aden and its immediate surroundings (an area of 192 km²). (75 sq. miles).
Prior to 1937, Aden had been governed as part of British India (originally as the Aden Settlement under the Bombay Presidency, and then as a "Chief Commissioner's province). Under the Government of India Act 1935 the territory was detached from British India, and was re-organised as a separate Crown Colony of the United Kingdom; this separation took effect on April 1, 1937.
Through the latter years of its existence the Colony of Aden was plagued by civil unrest.
Population of Aden Colony 1955
“The town of Aden was tied much more closely into the fabric of the British Empire and developed more rapidly than its surrounding hinterland”. The fundamental law for the Crown Colony of Aden is the Order of Council
September 28, 1936, which follows the usual lines of basic legislation for British colonies.
Aden was notable in that Sharia
law was not used in the Colony. “All suits, including those dealing with personal status and inheritance of Muslims, are entertained in the ordinary secular courts of the colony”.
Within the Aden Colony there were three local government bodies. The Aden municipality, which covered the town, Tawali, Ma'alla and Crater
, the Township authority of Sheikh Othman and finally Little Aden had been established in recent years as a separate body, covering the oil refinery and the workers' settlement. All of these bodies were under the overall control of the Executive council, which in turn was kept in check by the Governor.
Until the 1st of December 1955, the executive council was entirely unelected. The situation improved only slightly after this date, as four members were elected. Judicial administration was also entirely in British hands. “Compared with other British possessions, the development towards self-government and greater local participation has been rather slow".
Education was provided for all children, both boys and girls, until at least intermediate level. Higher education was available on a selective basis through scholarships to study abroad. Primary and Intermediate education was conducted in Arabic while Secondary and independent schools conducted their lessons in Arabic, English, Urdu
, Hebrew
and Gujarati
. There were also, for those who wished, unrecognised Koranic schools for both boys and girls.
and demonstrations were often politically motivated, rather than by purely economic reasons.
Strikes in 1956 were marked by a good many attacks on non-Arab groups. In May 1958 a state of emergency was declared and there were a number of bombings until the arrest of the principal instigators in July. However in October 1958 there was a general strike, which was accompanied by widespread rioting and disorder which ended in the deportation of 240 Yemenis from Aden.
"By ignoring the views of the local labour force, the British pushed much of the Arab population into opposition against their rule, who previously had been by no means captivated by Nasser”.
At the time much of the blame for these disturbances was placed on the broadcasts from Radio Cairo encouraged by Nasser’s anti-imperialist and Arab Nationalist regime there. "Radio Cairo began to speak in the tones of revolutionary Arab Nationalism. Men who had long lived in isolation now found a common political language and a breathtaking, liberating community of sentiment across the Arab world".
In December 1963 there was a grenade attack by an unidentified assailant on the high commissioner who was unharmed, however three bystanders were killed.
During the two World Wars the Jews in Aden had prospered while those in Yemen suffered.
The Balfour declaration had encouraged increased Jewish immigration into the Holy Land
, and as a result many of the Jewish communities from all over the Middle East sought a new home there. The Palestine issue had a serious effect on British prestige in Aden.
During the Second World War, Jews from Yemen flocked in large numbers into the Colony of Aden while en-route to Palestine
, where they were placed in refugee camps, primarily for their own safety. However conditions in the camps were difficult and in 1942 there was an outbreak of Typhus
. The need for the camps was apparent when in December 1947, following the UN declaration for the creation of a Jewish state, there were serious riots in Aden Town, where at least 70 Jews were killed and much of the Jewish Quarter was burnt and looted. Until this point nearly all the refugees had been from Yemen and the Aden Protectorate, but now after the growing violence against Jews in the Town itself, most tried to leave. This was shown by the population figures which from a high of roughly 4,500 in 1947 less than 500 were left in 1963. " The 1947 incident found Government policies at odds with the whole Arab community, including those who manned the police forces"
In 1948, due to the Arab-Israeli War immigration into Israel
was very difficult, as the Red Sea
and Suez Canal
were closed by the Egypt
ian government. By 1949 and after the declaration of a cease fire, 12,000 Jews from Yemen, Aden and the Protectorate were gathered in camps, from where they were airlifted on average 300 a day to Israel, in Operation Magic Carpet
.
The Little Aden oil refinery
was essential to the economy of Aden as it could process 5 million tons of crude oil annually and formed one of the Colony's only exports. The safety of this refinery was a clear priority for the government of Aden.
"As a temporary expedient, the Aden base has the merits of a stabiliser at a moment when the Yemen is split by civil war, when the Saudi Royal house has not yet made itself a name for consistent rule, when the Iraqi and Syrian governments are prone to overnight revolutions and when Egypt’s relations with both of them are uncertain”.
For much of Aden’s later history, relations with the UAR (United Arab Republic
) were of primary consideration. “The Formation of the UAR in 1958 increased the importance of Aden as a British military base in this troubled corner of the world”. However even before the formation of the UAR, Arab Nationalism had been growing in the awareness of Adeni's. "In 1946 Students protested that the anniversary of the founding of the Arab league had not been made a public holiday"
The most serious problem facing Aden in the late 50’s and 60’s was the relationship with the Yemen and Yemeni raids along the borders. But the adherence of Yemen to the UAR created a delicate situation and several political problems arose. Immigration into the Colony being a major concern of the local Arab workforce.
Previously to the creation of the UAR, peace in Aden it was admitted came not from the presence of the tiny garrison, but from a lack of Arab poles of attraction for malcontents.
However some contemporary writers, such as Elizabeth Monroe thought that the British presence in Aden may have been self-defeating, as it provided a casus belli
for Arab nationalists. So rather than supporting British peace efforts in the region, Aden was actually the cause of much anti-British sentiments in the region.
“As in Kuwait prosperous older men appreciate the advantages of the British connection, but young Arab nationalists and a vigorous trade union movement think it humiliating”.
was the currency of Aden until shortly after India gained independence in 1947. In 1951, the rupee was replaced by the East African shilling
which was on par with the shilling sterling
. Then with the advent of the South Arabian Federation, a new South Arabian dinar
was introduced in 1965 which was on par with the pound sterling
. The South Arabian dinar was a decimal unit divided into fils. Aden became independent as the South Yemen on 30 November 1967 without joining the British Commonwealth, but the South Arabian dinar continued at the one to one parity with sterling
until 1972. In June 1972, the British Prime Minister Edward Heath
unilaterally reduced the sterling area
to include only the United Kingdom
, the Isle of Man
, the Channel Islands
and Ireland
(and Gibraltar
the following year). The South Yemen reciprocated immediately by introducing its own exchange controls and ending the fixed peg to sterling
. South Yemen was still however listed in British law as being part of the overseas sterling area, that being a list of scheduled territories which continued to enjoy some exchange control privileges with the United Kingdom
right up until 1979 when Margaret Thatcher
abolished all United Kingdom
exchange controls. See British currency in the Middle East
.
with the protectorates of East and West Aden. It was hoped that this would lessen Arab calls for complete independence, while still allowing British control of foreign affairs and the BP
refinery at Little Aden to continue.
Federalism was first proposed by ministers from both the colony and protectorates, the suggested amalgamation would be beneficial they argued, in terms of economics, race, religion and languages. However the step was illogical in terms of Arab Nationalism, for it was taken just prior to some impending elections, and was against the wishes of Aden Arabs, notably many of the trade unions.
An additional problem was the huge disparity in political development, as at the time Aden colony was some way down the road to self-government and in the opinion of some dissidents, political fusion with the autocratic and backward Sultanates was a step in the wrong direction.
In the federation, Aden colony was to have 24 seats on the new council, while each of the eleven sultanates was to have six. While the federation as a whole would have financial and military aid from Britain.
On 18 January 1963, the colony was reconstituted as the State of Aden (Arabic: ولاية عدن Wilāyat ʿAdan), within the new Federation of South Arabia
. With this Sir Charles Hepburn Johnston
stepped down as the last Governor of Aden. British rule ended on 30 November 1967. The federation became the People's Republic of South Yemen, and in line with other formerly British arab territories in the Middle East, it did not join the British Commonwealth.
Many of the problems that Aden had suffered in its time as a colony did not improve on federation. Internal disturbances continued and intensified, leading to the Aden Emergency
and the final departure of British troops.
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
Crown colony
Crown colony
A Crown colony, also known in the 17th century as royal colony, was a type of colonial administration of the English and later British Empire....
from 1937 to 1963, and consisted of the port city of Aden
Aden
Aden is a seaport city in Yemen, located by the eastern approach to the Red Sea , some 170 kilometres east of Bab-el-Mandeb. Its population is approximately 800,000. Aden's ancient, natural harbour lies in the crater of an extinct volcano which now forms a peninsula, joined to the mainland by a...
and its immediate surroundings (an area of 192 km² (74.1 sq mi).
Prior to 1937, Aden had been governed as part of British India (originally as the Aden Settlement under the Bombay Presidency
Bombay Presidency
The Bombay Presidency was a province of British India. It was established in the 17th century as a trading post for the English East India Company, but later grew to encompass much of western and central India, as well as parts of post-partition Pakistan and the Arabian Peninsula.At its greatest...
, and then as a "Chief Commissioner's province"). Under the Government of India Act 1935
Government of India Act 1935
The Government of India Act 1935 was originally passed in August 1935 , and is said to have been the longest Act of Parliament ever enacted by that time. Because of its length, the Act was retroactively split by the Government of India Act 1935 into two separate Acts:# The Government of India...
the territory was detached from British India, and was established as a separate colony of the United Kingdom; this separation took effect on April 1, 1937.
On 18 January 1963, the colony was reconstituted as the State of Aden (Arabic: ولاية عدن Wilāyat ʿAdan), within the new Federation of South Arabia
Federation of South Arabia
The Federation of South Arabia was an organization of states under British protection in what would become South Yemen. It was formed on 4 April 1962 from the 15 protected states of the Federation of Arab Emirates of the South. On 18 January 1963 it was merged with the crown colony of Aden...
. The federation in turn became the People's Republic of South Yemen
People's Democratic Republic of Yemen
The People's Democratic Republic of Yemen — also referred to as South Yemen, Democratic Yemen or Yemen — was a socialist republic in the present-day southern and eastern Provinces of Yemen...
on 30 November 1967, marking the end of British rule.
The hinterland of the Colony of Aden was separately governed as the Aden Protectorate
Aden Protectorate
The Aden Protectorate was a British protectorate in southern Arabia which evolved in the hinterland of Aden following the acquisition of that port by Britain in 1839 as an anti-piracy station, and it continued until the 1960s. For administrative purposes it was divided into the Western...
.
History
On 19 January 1839, the British East India CompanyBritish East India Company
The East India Company was an early English joint-stock company that was formed initially for pursuing trade with the East Indies, but that ended up trading mainly with the Indian subcontinent and China...
landed Royal Marines
Royal Marines
The Corps of Her Majesty's Royal Marines, commonly just referred to as the Royal Marines , are the marine corps and amphibious infantry of the United Kingdom and, along with the Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary, form the Naval Service...
at Aden to occupy the territory and stop attacks by pirates against British shipping to India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. British influence then began to extend inland, both west and east, with the establishment of Aden protectorate
Aden Protectorate
The Aden Protectorate was a British protectorate in southern Arabia which evolved in the hinterland of Aden following the acquisition of that port by Britain in 1839 as an anti-piracy station, and it continued until the 1960s. For administrative purposes it was divided into the Western...
. The Western Aden Protectorate was a nearby territory of 75 sq. miles that was ceded to Britain
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
by Sultan Muhsin bin Fadl, while the Eastern Aden Protectorate composed of the Arab sheikdoms of Hadhramaut and the island of Socotra. Aden then became an important transit port for trade between British India and the Red Sea
Red Sea
The Red Sea is a seawater inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. The connection to the ocean is in the south through the Bab el Mandeb strait and the Gulf of Aden. In the north, there is the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and the Gulf of Suez...
, and when the Suez Canal
Suez Canal
The Suez Canal , also known by the nickname "The Highway to India", is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. Opened in November 1869 after 10 years of construction work, it allows water transportation between Europe and Asia without navigation...
was opened in 1869, it came an important coaling station.
In the year 1937, Aden became separated from the British Indian Empire and became a colony in its own right. The Colony of Aden was a British Crown colony from 1937 to 1963, and consisted of the port city of Aden and its immediate surroundings (an area of 192 km²). (75 sq. miles).
Prior to 1937, Aden had been governed as part of British India (originally as the Aden Settlement under the Bombay Presidency, and then as a "Chief Commissioner's province). Under the Government of India Act 1935 the territory was detached from British India, and was re-organised as a separate Crown Colony of the United Kingdom; this separation took effect on April 1, 1937.
Through the latter years of its existence the Colony of Aden was plagued by civil unrest.
Population of Aden Colony 1955
| Arabs | Somalis | Jews | Indians | Europeans | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 103879 | 10611 | 831 | 15817 | 4484 | 138441 |
Administration
Order of Council
An Order of Council is a form of legislation in the United Kingdom. It is made by the Lords of the Privy Council ....
September 28, 1936, which follows the usual lines of basic legislation for British colonies.
Aden was notable in that Sharia
Sharia
Sharia law, is the moral code and religious law of Islam. Sharia is derived from two primary sources of Islamic law: the precepts set forth in the Quran, and the example set by the Islamic prophet Muhammad in the Sunnah. Fiqh jurisprudence interprets and extends the application of sharia to...
law was not used in the Colony. “All suits, including those dealing with personal status and inheritance of Muslims, are entertained in the ordinary secular courts of the colony”.
Within the Aden Colony there were three local government bodies. The Aden municipality, which covered the town, Tawali, Ma'alla and Crater
Crater (Yemen)
Crater, also Kraytar, is one of the unofficial names of the oldest districts of the port city of Aden. Its official name is Seera . It is situated in a crater of an ancient volcano which forms the Shamsan Mountains...
, the Township authority of Sheikh Othman and finally Little Aden had been established in recent years as a separate body, covering the oil refinery and the workers' settlement. All of these bodies were under the overall control of the Executive council, which in turn was kept in check by the Governor.
Until the 1st of December 1955, the executive council was entirely unelected. The situation improved only slightly after this date, as four members were elected. Judicial administration was also entirely in British hands. “Compared with other British possessions, the development towards self-government and greater local participation has been rather slow".
Education was provided for all children, both boys and girls, until at least intermediate level. Higher education was available on a selective basis through scholarships to study abroad. Primary and Intermediate education was conducted in Arabic while Secondary and independent schools conducted their lessons in Arabic, English, Urdu
Urdu
Urdu is a register of the Hindustani language that is identified with Muslims in South Asia. It belongs to the Indo-European family. Urdu is the national language and lingua franca of Pakistan. It is also widely spoken in some regions of India, where it is one of the 22 scheduled languages and an...
, Hebrew
Hebrew language
Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...
and Gujarati
Gujarati language
Gujarati is an Indo-Aryan language, and part of the greater Indo-European language family. It is derived from a language called Old Gujarati which is the ancestor language of the modern Gujarati and Rajasthani languages...
. There were also, for those who wished, unrecognised Koranic schools for both boys and girls.
Labour movements, trade unions and internal dissent
Trade unions formed the basis for most of the outlet of social dissatisfaction in Aden. The first union, the Aden Harbour Pilots Association, had been formed in 1952, quickly followed by two more by the end of 1954. By 1956 most trades had formed a Union. There had been an assumption that the British model of Trade Union development would be followed. However, in the local tangle of grievances, the nationalist and economic were difficult to differentiate. As a result strikesStrike action
Strike action, also called labour strike, on strike, greve , or simply strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to work. A strike usually takes place in response to employee grievances. Strikes became important during the industrial revolution, when mass labour became...
and demonstrations were often politically motivated, rather than by purely economic reasons.
Strikes in 1956 were marked by a good many attacks on non-Arab groups. In May 1958 a state of emergency was declared and there were a number of bombings until the arrest of the principal instigators in July. However in October 1958 there was a general strike, which was accompanied by widespread rioting and disorder which ended in the deportation of 240 Yemenis from Aden.
"By ignoring the views of the local labour force, the British pushed much of the Arab population into opposition against their rule, who previously had been by no means captivated by Nasser”.
At the time much of the blame for these disturbances was placed on the broadcasts from Radio Cairo encouraged by Nasser’s anti-imperialist and Arab Nationalist regime there. "Radio Cairo began to speak in the tones of revolutionary Arab Nationalism. Men who had long lived in isolation now found a common political language and a breathtaking, liberating community of sentiment across the Arab world".
In December 1963 there was a grenade attack by an unidentified assailant on the high commissioner who was unharmed, however three bystanders were killed.
Jews in Aden
There had been Jewish tribes in Aden and Yemen for millennia, where they had primarily constituted the artisans and craftsmen of these areas, but it was after the British occupation of 1839 that Aden became an important congregation.During the two World Wars the Jews in Aden had prospered while those in Yemen suffered.
The Balfour declaration had encouraged increased Jewish immigration into the Holy Land
Holy Land
The Holy Land is a term which in Judaism refers to the Kingdom of Israel as defined in the Tanakh. For Jews, the Land's identifiction of being Holy is defined in Judaism by its differentiation from other lands by virtue of the practice of Judaism often possible only in the Land of Israel...
, and as a result many of the Jewish communities from all over the Middle East sought a new home there. The Palestine issue had a serious effect on British prestige in Aden.
During the Second World War, Jews from Yemen flocked in large numbers into the Colony of Aden while en-route to Palestine
Palestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
, where they were placed in refugee camps, primarily for their own safety. However conditions in the camps were difficult and in 1942 there was an outbreak of Typhus
Typhus
Epidemic typhus is a form of typhus so named because the disease often causes epidemics following wars and natural disasters...
. The need for the camps was apparent when in December 1947, following the UN declaration for the creation of a Jewish state, there were serious riots in Aden Town, where at least 70 Jews were killed and much of the Jewish Quarter was burnt and looted. Until this point nearly all the refugees had been from Yemen and the Aden Protectorate, but now after the growing violence against Jews in the Town itself, most tried to leave. This was shown by the population figures which from a high of roughly 4,500 in 1947 less than 500 were left in 1963. " The 1947 incident found Government policies at odds with the whole Arab community, including those who manned the police forces"
In 1948, due to the Arab-Israeli War immigration into Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
was very difficult, as the Red Sea
Red Sea
The Red Sea is a seawater inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. The connection to the ocean is in the south through the Bab el Mandeb strait and the Gulf of Aden. In the north, there is the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and the Gulf of Suez...
and Suez Canal
Suez Canal
The Suez Canal , also known by the nickname "The Highway to India", is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. Opened in November 1869 after 10 years of construction work, it allows water transportation between Europe and Asia without navigation...
were closed by the Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
ian government. By 1949 and after the declaration of a cease fire, 12,000 Jews from Yemen, Aden and the Protectorate were gathered in camps, from where they were airlifted on average 300 a day to Israel, in Operation Magic Carpet
Operation Magic Carpet (Yemen)
Operation Magic Carpet is a widely-known nickname for Operation On Wings of Eagles , an operation between June 1949 and September 1950 that brought 49,000 Yemenite Jews to the new state of Israel. British and American transport planes made some 380 flights from Aden, in a secret operation that was...
.
Foreign policy issues
Aden was located in a vital strategic location, on the main shipping routes between the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean. During the days of Empire, the value of the port was in providing key communications and bunkering facility between the Suez Canal and India. Even after the independence of India, Aden continued to be regarded as a vital asset in Britain’s world wide defence network. By 1958 Aden was the busiest harbour in the World, After New York. “Its importance cannot be overestimated, as it is the base that protects British oil interests in the Persian Gulf” .The Little Aden oil refinery
Oil refinery
An oil refinery or petroleum refinery is an industrial process plant where crude oil is processed and refined into more useful petroleum products, such as gasoline, diesel fuel, asphalt base, heating oil, kerosene, and liquefied petroleum gas...
was essential to the economy of Aden as it could process 5 million tons of crude oil annually and formed one of the Colony's only exports. The safety of this refinery was a clear priority for the government of Aden.
"As a temporary expedient, the Aden base has the merits of a stabiliser at a moment when the Yemen is split by civil war, when the Saudi Royal house has not yet made itself a name for consistent rule, when the Iraqi and Syrian governments are prone to overnight revolutions and when Egypt’s relations with both of them are uncertain”.
For much of Aden’s later history, relations with the UAR (United Arab Republic
United Arab Republic
The United Arab Republic , often abbreviated as the U.A.R., was a sovereign union between Egypt and Syria. The union began in 1958 and existed until 1961, when Syria seceded from the union. Egypt continued to be known officially as the "United Arab Republic" until 1971. The President was Gamal...
) were of primary consideration. “The Formation of the UAR in 1958 increased the importance of Aden as a British military base in this troubled corner of the world”. However even before the formation of the UAR, Arab Nationalism had been growing in the awareness of Adeni's. "In 1946 Students protested that the anniversary of the founding of the Arab league had not been made a public holiday"
The most serious problem facing Aden in the late 50’s and 60’s was the relationship with the Yemen and Yemeni raids along the borders. But the adherence of Yemen to the UAR created a delicate situation and several political problems arose. Immigration into the Colony being a major concern of the local Arab workforce.
Previously to the creation of the UAR, peace in Aden it was admitted came not from the presence of the tiny garrison, but from a lack of Arab poles of attraction for malcontents.
However some contemporary writers, such as Elizabeth Monroe thought that the British presence in Aden may have been self-defeating, as it provided a casus belli
Casus belli
is a Latin expression meaning the justification for acts of war. means "incident", "rupture" or indeed "case", while means bellic...
for Arab nationalists. So rather than supporting British peace efforts in the region, Aden was actually the cause of much anti-British sentiments in the region.
“As in Kuwait prosperous older men appreciate the advantages of the British connection, but young Arab nationalists and a vigorous trade union movement think it humiliating”.
Monetary system in Aden
Being an extension of British India, the Indian RupeeIndian rupee
The Indian rupee is the official currency of the Republic of India. The issuance of the currency is controlled by the Reserve Bank of India....
was the currency of Aden until shortly after India gained independence in 1947. In 1951, the rupee was replaced by the East African shilling
East African shilling
The shilling was the currency issued for use in British controlled areas in East Africa from 1921 until 1969. It was produced by the East African Currency Board...
which was on par with the shilling sterling
Sterling
Sterling may refer to:* Sterling silver, a grade of silver* Pound sterling, the currency of the United Kingdom- Businesses :* Hotel Sterling, a former hotel in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, United States* Sterling Airlines...
. Then with the advent of the South Arabian Federation, a new South Arabian dinar
South Yemeni dinar
The dinar was the currency of South Arabia and then South Yemen between 1965 and 1990. It was subdivided into 1000 fils . After Yemen's monetary unification on 1 July 1990, it was one of the two official currencies used in Yemen Republic until 11 June 1996.-History:The dinar was introduced in 1965...
was introduced in 1965 which was on par with the pound sterling
Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
. The South Arabian dinar was a decimal unit divided into fils. Aden became independent as the South Yemen on 30 November 1967 without joining the British Commonwealth, but the South Arabian dinar continued at the one to one parity with sterling
Sterling
Sterling may refer to:* Sterling silver, a grade of silver* Pound sterling, the currency of the United Kingdom- Businesses :* Hotel Sterling, a former hotel in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, United States* Sterling Airlines...
until 1972. In June 1972, the British Prime Minister Edward Heath
Edward Heath
Sir Edward Richard George "Ted" Heath, KG, MBE, PC was a British Conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and as Leader of the Conservative Party ....
unilaterally reduced the sterling area
Sterling Area
The sterling area came into existence at the outbreak of World War II. It was a wartime emergency measure which involved cooperation in exchange control matters between a group of countries, which at the time were mostly dominions and colonies of the British Empire...
to include only the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, the Isle of Man
Isle of Man
The Isle of Man , otherwise known simply as Mann , is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, within the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is...
, the Channel Islands
Channel Islands
The Channel Islands are an archipelago of British Crown Dependencies in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They include two separate bailiwicks: the Bailiwick of Guernsey and the Bailiwick of Jersey...
and Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
(and Gibraltar
Gibraltar
Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...
the following year). The South Yemen reciprocated immediately by introducing its own exchange controls and ending the fixed peg to sterling
Sterling
Sterling may refer to:* Sterling silver, a grade of silver* Pound sterling, the currency of the United Kingdom- Businesses :* Hotel Sterling, a former hotel in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, United States* Sterling Airlines...
. South Yemen was still however listed in British law as being part of the overseas sterling area, that being a list of scheduled territories which continued to enjoy some exchange control privileges with the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
right up until 1979 when Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
abolished all United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
exchange controls. See British currency in the Middle East
British currency in the Middle East
British involvement in the Middle East began with the Aden Settlement in 1839. The British East India Company established an anti-piracy station in Aden to protect British shipping that was sailing to and from India. The Trucial States were similarly brought into the British Empire as a base for...
.
Federation and the end of Aden colony
To solve many of the above problems, as well as continuing the process of self-determination that was accompanying the dismantling of the Empire, it was proposed that the Colony of Aden should form a federationFederation
A federation , also known as a federal state, is a type of sovereign state characterized by a union of partially self-governing states or regions united by a central government...
with the protectorates of East and West Aden. It was hoped that this would lessen Arab calls for complete independence, while still allowing British control of foreign affairs and the BP
BP
BP p.l.c. is a global oil and gas company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the third-largest energy company and fourth-largest company in the world measured by revenues and one of the six oil and gas "supermajors"...
refinery at Little Aden to continue.
An additional problem was the huge disparity in political development, as at the time Aden colony was some way down the road to self-government and in the opinion of some dissidents, political fusion with the autocratic and backward Sultanates was a step in the wrong direction.
In the federation, Aden colony was to have 24 seats on the new council, while each of the eleven sultanates was to have six. While the federation as a whole would have financial and military aid from Britain.
On 18 January 1963, the colony was reconstituted as the State of Aden (Arabic: ولاية عدن Wilāyat ʿAdan), within the new Federation of South Arabia
Federation of South Arabia
The Federation of South Arabia was an organization of states under British protection in what would become South Yemen. It was formed on 4 April 1962 from the 15 protected states of the Federation of Arab Emirates of the South. On 18 January 1963 it was merged with the crown colony of Aden...
. With this Sir Charles Hepburn Johnston
Charles Hepburn Johnston
Sir Charles Hepburn-Johnston GCMG, KStJ was a senior British diplomat.-Biography:He was born in London, the son of Ernest Johnston and Emma Hepburn, on 11 March 1912. He was educated at Winchester College, and Balliol College, Oxford, joining the Diplomatic Service in 1936...
stepped down as the last Governor of Aden. British rule ended on 30 November 1967. The federation became the People's Republic of South Yemen, and in line with other formerly British arab territories in the Middle East, it did not join the British Commonwealth.
Many of the problems that Aden had suffered in its time as a colony did not improve on federation. Internal disturbances continued and intensified, leading to the Aden Emergency
Aden Emergency
The Aden Emergency was an insurgency against the British crown forces in the British controlled territories of South Arabia which now form part of the Yemen. Partly inspired by Nasser's pan Arab nationalism, it began on 10 December 1963 with the throwing of a grenade at a gathering of British...
and the final departure of British troops.
List of Governors of Aden colony
- Sir Bernard Rawdon Reilly (1 April 1937 - 24 October 1940)
- John Hathorn Hall (24 October 1940 - 1 January 1945) (From 2 December 1940, Sir John Hathorn Hall)
- Reginald Stuart Champion (1 January 1945 - 1950) (From 1 January 1946, Sir Reginald Stuart Champion)
- William Allmond Codrington GoodeWilliam Allmond Codrington GoodeSir William Allmond Codrington Goode GCMG was a British colonial officer and served as governor to various colonies in the 20th Century...
(1950 - April 1951) (Acting) - Sir Tom Hickinbotham (April 1951 - 13 July 1956)
- Sir William Henry Tucker Luce (13 July 1956 - 23 October 1960)
- Sir Charles Hepburn JohnstonCharles Hepburn JohnstonSir Charles Hepburn-Johnston GCMG, KStJ was a senior British diplomat.-Biography:He was born in London, the son of Ernest Johnston and Emma Hepburn, on 11 March 1912. He was educated at Winchester College, and Balliol College, Oxford, joining the Diplomatic Service in 1936...
(23 October 1960 - 18 January 1963)