Yemen’s turbulent past

In this article, we explore the chronology of major events that set the mould for Yemen starting from the 1600s till 1960s.

From mid-1300s to 1600s, Yemen was under Mamluk empire, which ruled over Egypt. Their rule ended in 1517 after the Ottoman-Mamluk war. Though the Ottomans tried to conquer the whole of Yemen thereafter, the Zaidi tribes resist them, leading to a series of conflicts between them beginning in 1538 and ending in 1911 with the signing of Treaty of Daan.

In mid-1500s, the Ottomans decided to divide Yemen into North and South for administrative convenience and in 1560s, Yemen was split into two for the first time. The administrative chaos that ensued had the Zaidis up in arms again. In the battles that followed, the Ottomans would conquer more of Yemen by 1569.

In 1630s, the Ottomans attempted to conquer Yemen again but were defeated by the Zaidis. By then the British empire had entered Yemen and it was the beginning of the end of Ottoman rule in Yemen.

1630The East India Company begins trade in coffee from Mocha, which held a monopoly on the plant at the time

1785 Americans compete with British for the coffee trade from Mocha and by 1800 would become the main exporters of Yemen’s coffee. 

1839 Aden comes under British rule…

1850sZaidis lost major ports to other tribes; widespread food shortages; rivalry for the imamate; with Qāsimī rule collapsing, Turkish incursions into the highlands meet with support…

1869 –  Suez Canal opens in 1869 & Aden serves as a major refuelling port

1904 – Imam Yahya Hamidaddin led a rebellion against the Turks, disrupting the Ottoman ability to govern…

1911  – Ottomans lose heavily in Yemen; Treaty of Daan  stops the near-continuous war between the Turks and Zaidis, even though the Ottoman parliament ratified it only in 1913.

1914Anglo-Turkish Treaty on boundaries agrees on division between their respective regions of control in Yemen, that continue to serve as the present boundary between North and South Yemen…

1918Ottoman Empire dissolves, North Yemen gains independence and is ruled by Imam Yahya.. Through a series of alliances, tribal wars and intrigues, Yahya consolidates Zaidi hold over to the south of Sa’ada (including Sana’a) 1926Italy becomes the first power to recognize Yahya as King of Yemen…

1932 – The Idrisis seeks help from Yahya against Ibn Saud(KSA), who had begun liquidating their authority.

1934 

Following the Saudi-Yemeni war, Ibn Saud announced a ceasefire. Imam Yahya agreed to release Saudi hostages and ceded provinces for 20 years.

February 11 Treaty of Sana’a between Yemen and Britain.

May 20Treaty of Taif ends border war between Al-Saud and Yemen. Yemen cedes Asir to Saudi Arabia.

Aden  was administered as part of British India, and in 1937 became a British colony…

1943 – after the rise of labour unions, resistance to British occupation started in Aden…  

1945 – Yemen becomes a founding member of the Arab League..  

1946March 4US recognizes the Kingdom of Yemen and establishing an American Special Diplomatic Mission to the Kingdom.

British opposition to Imam Yahya is led by Aden-based political parties.

1947 – Yemen joins the United Nations  

December 2-4Anti-Jewish pogrom in Aden. 82 Jews were killed and 76 were injured by Arabic nationalists…

1948February 17Yahya is assassinated.   In the ensuing coup attempt, the rival Sayyid family, the al-Wazirs, seizes power for several weeks. Backed by the al-Saud family of Saudi Arabia, the Hamidaddins restores their rule with Imam Yahya’s monarchy restored to his son, Ahmad bin Yahya, who rallies northern tribesmen to defeat nationalist opponents of feudal rule..

(Ref : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Waziri_coup )  

1955Coup attempt by some army officers

1956April 21Jiddah Pact signed by Imam Ahmad(Yemen), Premier Nasser (of Egypt) and King Saud (of Saudi Arabia) in Jeddah pledging their armies under a single command to repel invasion.

1958 March 8Yemen joins the United Arab Republic in Damascus…

1962 

Sept  18– Imam Ahmad dies. Crown prince al-Badr succeeds him, unopposed.

Sept 26A federation of South Arabia formed, uniting Aden and the federated hinterlands under British auspices.

Egypt-backed Junior army officers seize power in a coup in North declaring it the Yemen Arab Republic, sparking an eight-year civil war between royalists supported by KSA and republicans by Egypt. The British government supported the royalists.

Nov  – Following the North Yemen Civil War, the monarchy is overthrown and a Nasserist republican government (1962-1970) established, led by a military junta that included tribal representatives. It enjoyed modest oil revenues and remittances from its citizens working in the oil-rich Arab.

1963October 14Two nationalist groups, the Front for the Liberation of Occupied South Yemen and the National Liberation Front begin an armed revolt (Aden Emergency) against British control in South Yemen. Fighting began in Radfan, but the British subdued it.

1964 –The British launched Operation Nutcracker, which completely burned Radfan.

1965 – Britain invokes emergency powers to deal with increasing unrest in Aden  

1966Britain announces that Aden was not vital to its commercial security and would be abandoned (naval base and all) by 1968

1967November 30South Yemen is granted independence by Britain, forms People’s Democratic Republic of Yemen (South Yemen), comprising Aden and the former Protectorate of South Arabia. It becomes the first and only officially socialist state in the Arab world.

(Ref : https://populartimelines.com/timeline/Yemen/full )

Yemen becomes a proxy in the Cold War, with a South Yemeni insurgency (with the support and backing of the Soviet Union) led by two nationalist parties revolted, causing the United Kingdom to unify the area and in 1967 to withdraw from its former colony.

For more details on these events please read my article, Global conflicts under the radar – Part XXII –Yemen, which is available on half-yearly subscription.

rimpelingsakosmos@proton.me

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