التنافس الدولي علي ميناء عدن عبر التاريخ الحديث : الاستعمار البريطاني أنموذجا 1839-1967

Abstract EN

There is no doubt that the study of ports is one of the important studies, considering the ports are among the most important border outlets for any country in the world, and for their role in the economic process.

The vast majority of goods, commodities and raw materials are transported and received through sea ports, especially the Red Sea ports, which are considered among the first large historical water bodies, due to its great commercial and cultural importance as it is considered a link between citizens .The discussion here comes about the port of Aden in Yemen, one of the historic Red Sea ports with an excellent strategic and commercial location, it is located on the Southern coast of Yemen, East of Bab al-Mandab, the Southern gate of the Red Sea, that entrance served as a link between the continents of the ancient world, the cradle of human civilization, and the port of Aden still plays a pioneering role in our time because of its location on the international shipping line that connects the East with the West.

This port of historical, commercial and strategic importance represents a major artery through the Suez Canal since 1869.

Due to the services it provided to ships heading to and from the canal, from supplying ships with fuel and supplying Gulf oil to the world, it is therefore one of the largest natural ports in the world.

The study followed the historical approach to figure out the past, and reflected that concept on the present and the future in order to make future predictions through focusing on the role of Aden port and its strategic importance and development in different historical periods as a commercial intermediary in the Mediterranean region, Southeast Asia, Africa and vice versa.

The port was and still is the beating heart of revitalizing global trade, in the past and present.

These strategic merits made it a global commercial port.

All the classic historical sources agreed upon it, which made it a display of various European ambitions, especially British colonialism since 1839 in the modern era.

Key words: Harbors B- How the red sea gets its name -Strategic importance of the Red Sea- Harbors.

A port or harbor is a place being located at the edge of oceans, rivers, or lakes, to which ships go for loading or unloading.

Harbors are also the place to which passengers go and depart by ship travel from or to.

Linguistically the word port is used to refer to sea or air ports (airports), but it mostly refers to seaports, which are called “harbors”.

Airports are the sites of departure or arrival of aircraft (1).Types of harbors and their functionsHarbors can be classified as natural or functional ones.

As for natural harbors, they can be as follows: - Natural Harbors, which are protected from storms and sea waves by means of natural lands and mountain ranges or by islands while ensuring peace within the harbor.

Seminatural harbors, surrounded by land, but need industrial work to protect the entrance only.

Artificial Harbors that are protected from storms and waves by breakwaters or created by drilling (2).

Commercial Harbors where services are provided for loading and unloading of ships’ cargo, and anchors and berths for cargo handling purposes.

Usually these harbors are part of the huge harbors or as an independent part, and there may be harbors specialized in a type of trade, such as the oil harbor, the coal harbor, the mineral harbor...etc.

Military Harbors: They are used for mooring military boats or as a warehouse.

Harbors of Refuge, which ships resort to when storms at sea, can be found as part of a huge commercial harbor, and this type of harbor is required for easy and safe access from the sea and good harbors (3).

Free Ports, which are isolated and safe areas to deal with cargo ships, loading, unloading and manufacturing, without the interference of the country’s laws, and the goal is to free trade, and reduce time lost in official transactions (4).

There is also the Marine Terminal, which is part of the harbor.

There are berths for cargo services, transportation and storage.

Its type depends on the type of cargo, as it is either a passenger terminal, or a petrol station (5).

So the names of harbors are due to the nature of the harbor and the aim of it is to unify the technical terms frequently used.b- How the red sea gets its nameThe Red Sea was named by various names according to its location from the coasts or the cities that overlook it.

It is named Bahr al Qulzum due to its location near to the city of al Qulzum located at the end of its gulf, and once again with Elath Sea at the end of Elath city, and named with Al Bahr Al Hijazi, and once again Bahr Aydhab, and Ibn Jabr also names it the Pharaonic Sea, Ahmad ibn Rustah Bahr Jeddah at Mecca Coast, while al-Hamdani names it the coast of the Hejaz Sea at the coast of the city, and the Sea of Yemen at the coast of Yemen.

As for the ancient geographers from the Greeks and Romans, they called the Red Sea many names.

Also known in Persian (with the Red Fish Sea) (6).

It is also called red due to the color of the coral reefs, which abound in it (7).C- Strategic Importance of the Red Sea The Red Sea is distinguished by its strategic location as one of the important global waterway and the confluence of the three continents of Asia, Europe and Africa, and for its middle location between the Mediterranean an d t he Arabian Sea.

It is also the link between three regional regions in the Horn of Africa, the Middle East and the Arabian Gulf region (8).

Owing to the strategic importance of the Red Sea as an important international conduit, the severity of the international competition around it has increased in the quest to seize it through various historical eras and taking this competition and conflict of different walks, remained over the historical times factor to link the country surrounding it was a route navigation between them and a means of commercial exchange where it became the most important global waterway of international trade.

Al-Idrisi’s description confirms an important fact, which is that the arid nature of most of the coasts of the Red Sea did not help in producing exports of commercial value, except for Yemen, which contributed with various agricultural and mineral products.

As the richness of the main ports such as Aden, Jeddah and Aydhab is due to their dependence on Indian trade.

Perhaps this geographical factor explains the few kingdoms whose history is linked to the spice trade in the Red Sea except for harbors of Yemen which played a historical role in the Red Sea.