Memories of Arabia and Empire: An Oral History of the British in Aden

Abstract

The British ruled Aden in southern Arabia, together with the Western and Eastern Aden Protectorates, from 1839 to 1967. In the final years, an increasingly violent national liberation struggle forced an abrupt British withdrawal. Although some local people benefited from colonial rule, it was felt by many that the decolonisation process was unsatisfactory. By listening to the voices of a wide range of individuals, both British and Yemeni, who experienced the final years of British rule, the Aden oral history project shifts the focus from history's ‘grand narratives’ to the ‘smaller’, less familiar stories of enterprise, adventure and everyday survival.