Somewhat of that character was the capture of Aden, an Arab town on the
entrance of the Red Sea. A former sultan or chief of Aden had by treaty
given up the place to the British; but his successor, not approving of
the bargain, refused to submit to it. As it was important for the
English to hold the place, to facilitate the navigation of the Red Sea,
an expedition, under Captain Smith of the _Volage_, was sent by Sir
Frederick Maitland, then Commander-in-Chief on the East India Station,
to bring the Sultan to reason.
It was not a big affair, though unhappily it cost several lives, but its
result was important and lasting. Captain Smith's expedition comprised,
besides HMS _Volage_, three smaller vessels and some transports. On the
19th of January 1839 he bombarded the town and landed his troops, who
after a short resistance overcame the Sultan's army, and hoisted the
flag on its walls, and Aden became a port of the British Empire, as it
has remained ever since.
From early times it had been a very important centre for the trade
between Europe and the East, but when the Portuguese opened up the route
to India by the Cape it lost its advantage. In the hands of the British
its prosperity has returned, and the return of the Eastern trade by
means of the Suez Canal to the Red Sea has raised it to a far higher
position than ever it possessed in ancient days; it is now the great
coaling station for the British fleet and merchantmen in the East. The
trade passing through it to and from Southern Arabia exceeds five
millions a year, and it is also a strongly fortified naval station.