British policy towards Yemen 1932-1956 in light of British archive documents.

Abstract

Summary

Yemen was part of the shortest and fastest maritime routes between the East and the West, and it had the advantages and geostrategic characteristics that made it a major hub on which major power struggles, confrontations and maneuvers move, and an arena for competition among them in order to achieve its ideological, economic, political and military interests, as well as being an important source of trade exchange. Accordingly, the Red Sea is a clear model for the relationship between historical events and the characteristics of the place. As for Yemen, it has been of exceptional importance as it is a geographical unit with political entities of varying importance and resources, reflecting on Britain's policy towards it.

Britain's interest in Yemen was one of the mainstays of its policy in the region. This interest had several reasons, including the strategic location of Yemen, the location of the port of Aden in the middle of the road between the colonies of India and Britain, its supervision of the Bab al-Mandab strait, and the presence of a section of the islands of an important location that control their location on both the eastern and western coasts of the Red Sea, thus controlling the powers. Arab politics in the east and west of the Red Sea.