Page 36 - A Hand book of Arabia Vol 1 (iii) Ch 6 -10

196 ADEN AND THE INTERIOR

be little more than a
leader, though at ordinary times he may
figurehead.
The British Government has no troops, in normal times, outside
a ten-mile radius from the Aden fortress, and does not interfere in
tribal or inter-tribal politics. The different confederations are
under British influence in varying degrees, but though they have
entered into certain treaty obligations they preserve their own
autonomy. It may be remarked, broadly, that the obligations
are observed—when not inconvenient—in inverse ratio to the ;
protected tribe’s distance from Aden. None of the confederations j
renders tribute tO' the British Government, either in money or men ; j
none has a standing army in the usually accepted sense, but every \
adult male is a soldier when occasion requires. Most of the chiefs j
receive annual stipends from the British Government, and the
following are entitled to salutes : the ‘Abdali, the Fadhli, the Ka‘aiti
(Hadhramaut), and the Amiri, as well as the Sultans of Qishn and
Socotra. It should be added that the individual attitude of some
of tlje confederations towards the British has been temporarily
disturbed by recent events.

Recent History and Present Politics

After being in various hands, Aden was definitely captured by
the British from the Sultan of the ‘Abdali in January 1839. The
Sultan fled to Lahej. From the very first it was evident that the
occupation of the town would be of little use unless a good under­
standing were arrived at with the neighbouring tribes, in whose
hands lay the power of interfering with the land-borne trade and the
supplies on which, in those early days, the place was so largely
dependent. Treaties were therefore concluded successively with
the Azzeibi (a branch of the ‘Abdali), the ‘Aqrabi, Subeihi, Fadhli,
Yafa‘, Amiri, and other tribes ; but, in spite of treaties, the first
years of occupation show a turbulent record with a good deal of
fighting. Four unsuccessful attempts to retake Aden by the
‘Abdal, in conjunction with the Fadhli, were made between the
years 1839 and 1846 ; but, since the latter date, only offensive
military operations of a minor character have occasionally been
necessary against individual offending tribes.
Relations ’with Turkey, our most powerful neighbour, have been
more troublesome. Having relinquished the Yemen for a lone
period, the Turks found their opportunity to intervene once more5
after the evacuation of the district by the Egyptians in 184jV
In 1849 a Turkish expedition from Jiddah captured the port of