Aden:
An ancient trade centre, the city of Aden was under Egyptian control from the 3rd century BC until it became a Roman colony in 24BC.
It fell successively under Ethiopian and Persian control and became associated with Yemen about the 7th century AD.
It fell to the Turks in 1538 and was incorporated into the Sultanate of Lahej in 1728. Under the rule of the Sultan of Lahej, Aden had declined to a small fishing village with only 600 inhabitants.
In 1838, Sultan Mohsin Bin Fadl ceded 194sq kms, including Aden, to the British. On January 19, 1839, the British East India Company landed Royal Marines at Aden to occupy the territory.
From 1839 until 1937, Aden was ruled as part of the Bombay Presidency of British India and was known as Aden Settlement. Its original territory was enlarged in 1857 by the island of Perim in 1868 by the Kuriya Muriya Islands, and in 1915 by the island of Kamaran.
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 192sq km). Aden was declared a free port by Act X in 1850, according to which no customs duty was payable on any goods carried by sea or land to or from Aden.
This act left the door of immigration wide open to the new settlement. Arrival of foreign labour and expatriates continued to pour unabated until the 60s.
