'History of the Indian Navy. (1613-1863).' [‎114] (133/622)

HISTORY OF THE INDIAN NAVT.
with the rulers of that place, and the causes which brought
about its occupation by us.
We have mentioned, in the course of this Narrative, that a
naval force was despatched from England in 1799, by the
British Government, to cruise in the Red Sea, and also an ex
pedition from Bombay, under Colonel Murray, to occupy the
island of Perim, which, however, was evacuated after a brief
oecnpation of only a few months; on our reoccupation of the
island, the tank, which served as a reservoir of water, and other
remains of works, were found in tolerable preservation. From
Perim the small body of three hundred troops proceeded to Aden,
when the naval enterprise of the Portuguese opened a new route to India, by the
Cape of Good Hope. Mr. Salt describes the city, in 1809, as being still of " con
siderable importance as a place of trade," but its ruin appears to have been
complete in 1835, when it was visited by Commander Haines, who speaks of
it as " a wretched village, built on the ruins of the ancient city, containing
about ninety stone houses, in a dilapidated state, and several mosques, only
one of which was in repair ; the remainder of the houses were of mats and
reeds, its trade was annihilated, its reservoirs in ruins, its wells brackish, and the
streets and harbour almost deserted. It had a population of from five to six
hundred souls, of whom one hundred and eighty were Jews, thirty or forty
Banians, and the remainder Arabs or Soomalies."
The Sultan usually resided at Lahej, leaving the peninsula in joint charge of a
Governor and a Collector of Customs, with a force of about fifty Bedouins. The
revenues did not exceed 12,000 dollars annually. How great is the contrast
between this gloomy picture and its present state under British rule, is testified
by the following extract from the Address of the Native mercantile community,
presented to the Prince of Wales on the occasion of his landing on the 1st of
November, 1875 :—
" When Aden was captured in 1839, being the first of the territorial conquests
that have been made during the glorious reign of Queen Victoria, it was only a
small fishing village; but under the fostering care of British rule it has expanded,
as Your Eoyal Highness will this day see, and it has become a large and pros
perous town containing a population of nearly thirty thousand souls, composed of
many creeds and races, and with an import and export trade showing transac
tions valued at upwards of two millions sterling."
The first British ship to visit Aden was the Hon. Company's ship < Ascension,'
under the command of Captain A. Sharpey, on the 8th of April, 1609. Captain
Sharpey was kept as a prisoner six weeks by the Governor, who also seized goods
to the extent of 2,500 dollars. On the 10th of November in the following year.
Sir Henry Middleton arrived at Aden with three ships, whence he proceeded with
two of them to Mocha, where he was treacherously thrown into prison; eight of
his men were killed, and an attempt was made by one hundred and fifty Turkish
soldiers to capture the Hon. Company's ship ' Darling,' which, however, was frus
trated, and after some desperate fighting the entire body of Turks was slain, with
the exception of one man, who was made prisoner. Sir Henry and his companions
were taken before the Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. at Sanaa, and ultimately, in March, 1611, escaped on
board ship, when he compelled the Governor to pay an indemnity of 18,000 dollars.
Captain Doveton, who remained at Aden in the ' Peppercorn,' suffered similar
treatment, and for some time twenty of his men were detained prisoners there.
In 1614 a Dutch fleet under Yan den Broeck visited Aden, but both the Com
pany's commanders, Captain Saris and Captain Shilling, who fell later in the
Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. when fighting against the Portuguese, avoided Aden during their
visits to Mocha in 1612 and 1618. On the 6th of February, 1708, two French
ships visited Aden, the first of their nation, under M. de Merveille, who proceeded
to Mocha, where he states he found a Dutch factory An East India Company trading post. . In 1762, the Eed Sea
was visited by the famous scientific expedition organised by King Frederick v.
of Denmark, under charge of the learned M. Neibuhr.