'Military report on the Aden Protectorate' [44v] (93/332)
The record is made up of 1 volume (164 folios). It was created in 1915. It was written in English. The original is part of the British Library: India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. Records and Private Papers Documents collected in a private capacity. .
Transcription
This transcription is created automatically. It may contain errors.
74
known by the Arabs as 'Am Amma'. The mist gathers in
heavy masses in the valleys, and generally rolls up to the pla
teau with the southerly wind by about 8 or 9 in the morning,
and is dispersed by the sun towards midday. Not frequent
ly thick wet mist forms during the night over the Dbala plateau
and lasts for the greater part of the day. A north wind blew
at time? in the morning and there was then no mist.
In April and May there was much gusty wind, with dust,
and occasional thunderstorms. In May 1903, in the country
about Kataba, there was daily rain for a week or more.
In June, July and Agust there was much atmospheric dis
turbance. Frequent thunderstorms with heavy rain and hail,
generally in the afternoon, made the air cool and pleasant.
These storms seldom lasted for more than an hour or two. They
circled round and came from all directions, but most frequently
from the north and west. The mountain mass of Jabal Jaliaf
seemed to intercept many storms and prevent rain falling
in the immediate neighbourhood of Dhala, and the rainfall
on Jabal Jahaf and in the plain country to the north appeared
to be greater than at Dhala. The hailstones do much damage
to yoang crops, especially on Jabal Jahaf.
The wind sometimes blew from the north for some days
during the summer and autumn months and was accompani
ed by a good deal of haze. In July and August this wind brought
large flights of locusts which were very destructive.
September, October, and November were the most un
healthy months of the year. Malaria was very prevalent,
not only among Europeans, and natives of India, but also
among the Arabs themselves.
Anopheles mosquitoes were present, though not in great
n3 .111 bers, from July to October.
The most prevalent diseases among the troops were malaria,
dysentery, bronchitis, and boils. Much of the sickness was con
tracted while marching through the low-lying country, and muck
was due to exposure in tents, and would no doubt disappear
under more favourable conditions.
About this item
- Content
Military report on Aden Protectorate by the General Staff India, dated 1915, and printed at the Government Monotype Press, Simla. The report's chapters cover:
History, including a general summary of the history the region from 529 A.D. to 1915; histories of the individual tribes ('Abdalī, 'Akrabī, 'Alawī, Amīr , 'Audalī, Upper Aulakī, Lower Aulakī, Fadhlī, Haushabi, Ka'atī, Kathīrī, Mahrī, Subaihī, Wahīdī, Upper Yafaī, Lower Yafaī); and the history of the Soqotra.
Geography, including a general description of the area, its mountains and rivers, and descriptions of Aden, Perim and Soqotra; and descriptions of the individual tribal areas, giving their boundaries, distances from towns and villages, and locations of fresh water; Climate and Health, including general information on the climate of the region and specific illnesses such as Malaria, information on the tribal area of Amīrī; tables showing average temperatures, sickness and death rates for European Soldiers in 1903, and observations on veterinary health.
Population, including a general description, the census for the Aden Protectorate taken in 1911, the population of Soqotra island, the populations of the various tribes, and statements showing the Subaīhī tribes in proximity to the Turkish border.
Resouces, including agriculture, supplies, commerce, industries, camels, horses, donkeys, cattle, sheep and goats, chickens and eggs, woods and trees; the resources of the Aden garrison; resources on the island of Perim; resources on the island of Soqotra; the resources of the various tribes, and a statement of the purchases made at Dhāla in summer 1903.
Military, including a general summary, armaments, fighting qualities and method of fighting; arrangements on the island of Perim and of the Soqotra people; approximate fighting strength of the principal tribes in the Aden protectorate; information concerning the town and Turkish frontier post at Ka'taba, including diagrams of the fort, a landscape sketch, and a sketch showing the position of Ka'taba with reference to Aden and British Territory.
Maritime, including the harbours and ancorages at Perim; Ras-ul-Ara; Bandar 'Imran; Bandar Fuqum; Khor Bīr Ahmad; Aden Harbour; Shuqra; Māqatīn-us-Saghīr; 'Irka' Ghubbat-ul-'Ain; Bālahāf; Bir 'Alī (Bandar Husn Ghurāb Shallow vessel with a projecting bow. ); Bandar Burūm; Mukalla; Shehr; Sharma Bay; Saihut; Qishn; Soqotra all with latitude and longitude co-ordinates given.
Administration, including a general summary of the various systems in use throughout the territory, the administration of the Aden Settlement, including Perim; and summaries of the administrative set-up of each of the Arab tribes
Communications, including details of the routes leading North and Northwest to the Turkish Frontier; Routes leading to the North; Routes in the Eastern portion of the protectorate; Amir of Dhāla's territory; Soqotra; Telegraphs and Signalling; Submarine cables; Wireless; Perim submarine cables
Appendix A is a list of the tribes, their rulers, stipends and salutes, Appendix B is a glossary of Arabic Terms, Appendix C is a list of tribal areas, their population and fighting force, and Appendix D is a bibliography.
At the rear of the volume is a pocket containing one map: Hunter's map of Arabia, which appears to have been added to the volume at a later date.
- Extent and format
- 1 volume (164 folios)
- Arrangement
There is a detailed table of contents on folios 5-7, a comprehensive index to the report on folios 139-159, and a pocket containing the maps at the rear of the volume.
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: The foliation sequence consists of pencil numbers, enclosed in a circle, located in the top right hand corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. of each folio. The sequence commences on the front cover, with number 1, and ends on the last of the two maps which are inserted at the back of the volume, with number 164.
The volume also contains an original printed pagination sequence which uses roman numerals i-vii for the table of contents; commences at 1 on the first page of the report and concludes with 298 on the last page of the index.
- Written in
- English in Latin script View the complete information for this record
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- Reference
- IOR/L/MIL/17/16/6
- Title
- 'Military report on the Aden Protectorate'
- Pages
- front, back, spine, edge, head, tail, back-i, 2r:115v, 117r:161v, back-i
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence