Aden
Aden names 3 different subjects across the 6 encyclopedias on this shelf. Each is set out below. 1 of them is described by more than one encyclopedia.
Aden GULF OF, rising to 1
Described by 2 of the 6 encyclopedias.
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
GULF OF , rising to 1,776 feet. It is joined to the an mainland by a narrow, level, and sandy The isthmus. The town is on the eastern shore of the peninsula, stands in the crater of an extinct volcano, and is surrounded by barren, cinder-like rocks. The main crater is known as the Devil's Punch-bowl. Frequently the heat is intense; but the very dry, hot climate, though depressing, is unusually healthy for the tropics. The Romans occupied it in the 1st century A. D. Till the discovery of the Cape route to India (1498), it was the chief mart of Asiastic produce for the Western nations; but, in 1838, it had sunk to be a village of 600 inhabitants. The increasing importance of the Red Sea route gave Aden great value as a station for England to hold; and, in 1839, after a few hours' contest, Aden fell into the hands of the British. It is of high importance, both in a mercantile and naval point of view, especially as a great coaling station; it has a garrison and strong fortifications. During the wand strong fortificationsful During against Aden was made by the Turks. The population and resources of the place have rapidly increased since 1838, and the opening of the Suez canal in 1869 gave it a great impetus. The annual value of its imports and exports each exceeds £2,000,000. Aden, which is politically connected with Bombay, has a population of about 50,000. The e majority of the natives are Arabs and Somalis, from Africa, all speaking Arabic. THE HARBOR OF ADEN
Aiton's Encyclopedia (1910)
a'den, an important seaport on the southern coast of Arabia. The city occupies the crater of an extinct volcano. Volcanic bluffs, the lip of the old crater, encircle the city, rising to a height of 2,000 feet. Aden was a depot of trade in Roman times. It is now the seat of government, not only for British territory in Arabia, but for British Somaliland, a strip of seacoast wrested from Abyssinia. Recent fortresses have rendered the port one of the strongest fortifications in the world, almost ranking with Gibraltar. Aden is the center of the Arabian caravan trade. On an average 767 loaded camels swing into the town daily. Each is loaded with from 600 to 900 pounds of coffee, fodder, grain, fruits, vegetables, wood, charcoal, and water. There are no wagons, no horses, only camels, many from a distance of seven hundred miles. The trade of Abyssinia centers at Aden. Aden exports coffee, gum arabic, tobacco, hides, and other local products. The opening of the Suez Canal made Aden a coaling station on the way to India. Aden is a variation of the word Eden, meaning Paradise, the name being given on account of its fine climate, perpetual sunshine, and pleasant sea breezes. The population of the city and immediate vicinity is about 45,000. When it is 12 o'clock at noon in the Mississippi Valley, it is 9 P. M. at Aden. See Arabia ; Suez Canal
Aden GULF OF, the portion of sea lying between the N
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
GULF OF, the portion of sea lying between the N. coast of Aden, terminating E. with Ras Jerdaffon (Cape Gardafui), and the S. coast of Arabia, between Ras Arrah and Ras Agab; the former in latitude 12° 40′ N., longitude 44° E.; the latter in latitude 15° 15′ N., longitude 51° 30′ E. Its length from E. to W. is thus about 480 miles; its breadth from N. to S. varying from 160 to 200 miles.
Aden a peninsula and town belonging to Great Britain
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
a peninsula and town belonging to Great Britain, on the S. W. coast of Arabia, 105 miles E. of the strait of Bab-el-Mandeb, the entrance to the Red Sea. The peninsula is a mass of volcanic rocks, 5 miles long from E. to W., and
What Has Changed in the Last Century
When Collier's wrote in 1921 that Aden was "a peninsula and town belonging to Great Britain," politically attached to Bombay, the arrangement seemed permanent; it lasted only until 1937, when Aden was detached from British India and made a crown colony, and ended altogether in November 1967, when Britain withdrew after four years of insurgency and the People's Republic of South Yemen was proclaimed. Aitken's coaling station gave way to oil: BP opened a refinery at Little Aden in the 1950s, and after South Yemen merged with the north in 1990 Aden was named the united country's economic capital. The city that Aitken put at 45,000 people now holds close to a million, and since 2015 it has served as the seat of Yemen's internationally recognised government amid a devastating civil war. The volcanic crater, the Devil's Punch-bowl and the strategic position at the mouth of the Red Sea are all still exactly as described.
Written for this edition, 2026.