The Federation of South Arabia, known from 1959–1962 as the Federation of the Emirates of South Arabia, or simply as South Arabia, was a federal state under British protection in South Arabia. Its capital was Al-Ittihad, a suburb of Aden.
Contents
History
Federation of the Emirates of South Arabia
The Federation of six states was inaugurated in the British Colony of Aden on 11 February 1959, and the Federation and Britain signed a "Treaty of Friendship and Protection," which detailed plans for British financial and military assistance. It subsequently added nine states and, on 4 April 1962, became known as the Federation of South Arabia. This was joined by the Aden Colony on 18 January 1963.
The Federation never assumed an effective political identity. It remained what it had been at the start, an aggregation of interested individuals and groups, united not so much by a positive fellow feeling as by fear of common enemies. This was reflected in the Federal constitution, which left the rulers as absolute as ever in their home districts, appointing delegates to a Federal legislature and sharing between them the Ministries and rotating Chairmanship of the executive Council.
Federation of South Arabia
On 23 July 1962, negotiations began in London between the British Minister of Colonies, Duncan Sandys, and the ministers of the Federation of South Arabia and the Colony of Aden. The parties raised the issue of the constitutional status of Aden and the conditions for its entry into the federation. Numerous parties and organisations in Aden protested against these negotiations, declaring that the colonial ministers did not have the right to decide the fate of the population of Aden and that only the national government of Aden, created by general elections, would be competent to decide the question of a union with the federation. To achieve all this, it was necessary to eliminate its dependence on Britain.
The Federation of South Arabia was formed on 18 January 1963, from 15 states of the Federation of Arab Emirates of the South and the Royal Colony of Aden. After the annexation of the Upper Aulaki Sultanate in June 1964, the federation included 17 states.
Representatives of the opposition, led by the Aden Trade Union Congress (ATUC), said that any union concluded against the will of the people of Aden would be dissolved at the first opportunity. On the day the London negotiations began, a protest strike was declared in Aden. The ATUC called for this strike, despite the fact that Aden had had a law prohibiting strikes since 1960, and violators were subject to imprisonment.
On 16 August 1962, negotiations ended with the signing of an agreement according to which Aden, while remaining under British sovereignty, would become part of the Federation of South Arabia. The agreement came into force on 18 January 1963, with Aden fully integrated on 1 April 1963. This agreement was explicitly an addition to the federation agreement of 11 February 1959, which remained in force. During these negotiations, agreement was also reached to introduce minor changes to the constitutional status of Aden once it became part of the federation.
In 1965, the British temporarily removed the government of the Federation of South Arabia and imposed direct colonial rule.
In 1966, the Federation team took part in the Commonwealth Games in Kingston, Jamaica.
States
Federation of the Emirates of South Arabia
Fadhli
Audhali
Beihan
Dhala
Lower Yafa
Upper Aulaqi Sheikhdom
Alawi
Aqrabi
Dathina
Haushabi
Lahej
Lower Aulaqi
Maflahi
Shaib
Wahidi
Federation of South Arabia
State of Aden
Alawi Sheikhdom
Aqrabi Sheikhdom
Audhali Sultanate
Emirate of Beihan
Dathina Sheikhdom
Emirate of Dhala
Fadhli Sultanate
Haushabi Sultanate
Sultanate of Lahej
Lower Aulaqi Sultanate
Sultanate of Lower Yafa
Muflahi Sheikhdom
Sheikhdom of Shaib
Upper Aulaqi Sheikhdom
Upper Aulaqi Sultanate
Wahidi Sultanate: consisted originally of four sub-sultanates: Wahidi Balhaf, Wahidi Azzan, Wahidi Bir Ali, Wahidi Haban
List of rulers
Chief Ministers
Hassan Ali Bayumi (18 January 1963 – 24 June 1963)
Zayn Abdu Baharun (9 July 1963 – 23 January 1965)
Abdul-Qawi Hassan Makkawi (7 March 1965 – 25 September 1965)
Ali Musa al-Babakr (25 September 1965 – 30 August 1966)
Salih al-Awadli (30 August 1966 – 30 November 1967)
High Commissioners
Sir Charles Johnston (18 January 1963 – 17 July 1963)
Sir Kennedy Trevaskis (17 July 1963 – 21 December 1964)
Sir Richard Turnbull (21 December 1964 – 22 May 1967)
Sir Humphrey Trevelyan (22 May 1967 – 30 November 1967)
Postage stamps
The Federation issued its own postage stamps from 1963 to 1966, replacing postage stamps of Aden. Most of its issues were part of the omnibus issues common to all the Commonwealth territories, but it did issue its own definitive stamps on 1 April 1965. The set of 14 included 10 values, from 5 to 75 fils, each depicting the arms of the Federation in a single colour, while the top four values (100 fils, 250 fils, 500 fils, and 1 dinar), featured the flag of the Federation.
The stamps referred to above are those listed in the Scott Standard Postage Stamp Catalog. A number of other stamps were also issued and are listed in Stanley Gibbons and other widely used stamp catalogs. It is possible, or even likely, that some of the stamps of South Arabia were not issued primarily for postal use.