Purchase of Little Aden
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The 1860s was still an era when the most likely future enemy of the British was going to be the French. It was therefore a matter of some urgency and importance when in November 1862 the chief of Bir Ahmed, the head of the Akrabi, reported an offer of agents of the French government to purchase Little Aden. Whilst there was no practical facility there at that time, its occupation by the French would in every way have been very detrimental to British interests; by sea it was within four miles of the British anchorage and 20 miles overland. No time was to be wasted. On hearing of the offer the British government ordered The India Office to purchase Little Aden to prevent its sale to another power.
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Negotiations were going to take some time due to there being several interested parties involved and to show good intentions Colonel Coghlan, the Aden Resident, made an advance of 3,000 dollars to the chief of Bir Ahmed. Coghlan’s successor, Colonel Merewether, in 1864 continued to try to get an agreement but made little progress. By 1867 he had managed to get the chief of Bir Ahmed to the negotiating table and it was thought the purchase could be completed on the payment of another 20,000 dollars.
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The next Resident, Major General Russell, had 10 days of negotiations, during which the chief said the French had offered 60,000 dollars. This was almost certainly a bluff to get Russell to up the ante. Over the next few months Russell’s Assistant, Captain Goodfellow, worked patiently to forge a deal. By December 1868 the situation was that the Akrabi chief who owned the Little Aden peninsula was willing to sell but the Fadli (or Fadtheli) sultan was claiming ownership of some of the land. Naturally the British government wanted to complete the deal as speedily as possible, but the claims of the Fadli had to be heard and investigated.
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Agreement by all parties was reached in March 1869. The Fadli sultan had no lien on the territory of the chief of the Akrabee and claims by the Sultan of Lahej had been met by the payment of 2,000 dollars. All former claims were nul and void. The agreement to sell was signed by the Akrabi chief’s two sons acting on his behalf. Russell reported that this was the first step towards the purchase of Little Aden and that Goodfellow had shown ‘great judgement and patience’.
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The final purchase was completed on 3 April 1869 with a cash payment of 30,000 dollars. In addition the monthly subsidy paid to the Akrabi chief was increased from 30 to 40 dollars. It was also agreed that the Akrabi chief was entitled to raise dues on articles passing through his territory. (In 1877 Captain Hunter estimated that the annual income to the Akrabi was about $600.) In recognition of his assistance in the negotiations the Resident agreed that the stipend currently paid to Syud Alour , the current head of the influential Aidroos family (and referred to as ‘the Aidroos’ in the same way as one referred to ‘the Abadli’), should continue to the next generation after his death.
Aidroos Mosque
[The Aidroos Mosque in Crater is a well-known landmark, presumably built and paid for by the family. The fact that he was being paid a stipend suggests he was working for government in some capacity. Perhaps he acted as interpreter? Note that tribal leaders were paid subsidies, not stipends.]
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As well as this award to the Aidroos, presents were also given to the brothers of the Akrabi chief on the basis that by accepting these they acknowledged that they were aware of the sale and did not dispute it.
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In mid-June that year a problem arose: the Sultan of Lahej preferred a claim of proprietary right to Little Aden and sent the Resident a document that supposedly proved this. The Resident replied that Lahej had no title or right to Little Aden. Subsequently there was a re-think as it was suspected that the Aidroos had been corrupted and had intentionally given wrong advice to the Resident, to the extent that the Resident suggested to Bombay that the Aidroos’s stipend should be withdrawn. It is not clear as to what the outcome of this was.
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It having been decided that there should be no formal ceremony of acquisition, in September Lieutenant Hogg, commanding the Aden Troop, was sent out with a detachment to plant a Union Jack on Little Aden, this being considered less of a display or show of force than the use of regular troops of the Aden garrison.