Ottoman-British conflict in Yemen: The nine canton boundary example

Yemen is a region that is home to one of the oldest civilizations in history, located in the south of Arabian geography, the Red Sea in the west and the Persian Gulf in the east. When it came under Ottoman rule in 1517, it remained under Ottoman rule for about 400 years. With India becoming a British colony, Yemen has become one of the vital places for England. In 1839, Britain occupied Aden, located in the south of Yemen. England signed a number of agreements with the native tribes in order to legitimize the occupation. Until that date, these tribes, where the Ottoman central administration was not very involved, were acting independently. The Ottoman Empire organized military operations in Yemen in 1849 and 1871, and put many regions, especially Sana'a, under their obedience. Immediately afterwards, he made some administrative and military regulations. Seeing these activities of the Ottoman Empire in Yemen as a threat to Aden, England demanded in 1882 that the Nevâhi-i Tis'a (Nine tribes) region, which is located approximately 150 km north of Aden, belonged to it and not to intervene in it. Not content with this, England offered to draw borders to the Ottoman Empire in 1882 in order to determine the influence areas of the two sides. At first, the Ottoman Empire did not take kindly to this proposal, but later developments brought the two sides together around a table. At the end of the negotiations that started in 1902, border protocols were signed in 1903-1904-1905. In 1914, the agreement became official with the signing of Sultan Mehmed Reşad and King George V of England. In this thesis, England's Red Sea policy, the occupation of Aden and the Ottoman-British border demarcation activities, which started with the establishment of the East India Company, are explained.