Cheikh Saïd
Encyclopedia
Cheikh Saïd is a rocky peninsula
in Yemen
, near the island of Perim
on the Bab-el-Mandeb
at the entrance to the Red Sea
. In 1868 it was purchased from the local ruler, Sheikh Ali Tabet Ahmed, by Bazin et Rabaud, a private company based in Marseilles in France
, which wanted to use it as a base for exporting coffee
. The purchase price was 80,000 thaler
s. In 1869, the sheikh annulled the agreement as he had received only 18,000 thalers. Bazin et Rabaud and some allies in the French press attempted to press the French government
to intervene, without success. Although as late as 1970, the Petit Larousse
described it as having been a "French colony
from 1868 to 1936", France never claimed formal jurisdiction
or sovereignty
over it.
Peninsula
A peninsula is a piece of land that is bordered by water on three sides but connected to mainland. In many Germanic and Celtic languages and also in Baltic, Slavic and Hungarian, peninsulas are called "half-islands"....
in Yemen
Yemen
The Republic of Yemen , commonly known as Yemen , is a country located in the Middle East, occupying the southwestern to southern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the north, the Red Sea to the west, and Oman to the east....
, near the island of Perim
Perim
Perim is a volcanic island strategically located in the Strait of Mandeb at the southern entrance into the Red Sea, off the southwestern coast of Yemen, at . It has a surface area of 13 square kilometers and rises to an altitude of 65 meters. The island has a natural harbour on its southwestern...
on the Bab-el-Mandeb
Bab-el-Mandeb
The Bab-el-Mandeb meaning "Gate of Grief" in Arabic , is a strait located between Yemen on the Arabian Peninsula, Djibouti and Eritrea, north of Somalia, in the Horn of Africa, and connecting the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden...
at the entrance to the Red Sea
Red Sea
The Red Sea is a seawater inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. The connection to the ocean is in the south through the Bab el Mandeb strait and the Gulf of Aden. In the north, there is the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and the Gulf of Suez...
. In 1868 it was purchased from the local ruler, Sheikh Ali Tabet Ahmed, by Bazin et Rabaud, a private company based in Marseilles in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, which wanted to use it as a base for exporting coffee
Coffee
Coffee is a brewed beverage with a dark,init brooo acidic flavor prepared from the roasted seeds of the coffee plant, colloquially called coffee beans. The beans are found in coffee cherries, which grow on trees cultivated in over 70 countries, primarily in equatorial Latin America, Southeast Asia,...
. The purchase price was 80,000 thaler
Thaler
The Thaler was a silver coin used throughout Europe for almost four hundred years. Its name lives on in various currencies as the dollar or tolar. Etymologically, "Thaler" is an abbreviation of "Joachimsthaler", a coin type from the city of Joachimsthal in Bohemia, where some of the first such...
s. In 1869, the sheikh annulled the agreement as he had received only 18,000 thalers. Bazin et Rabaud and some allies in the French press attempted to press the French government
Government of France
The government of the French Republic is a semi-presidential system determined by the French Constitution of the fifth Republic. The nation declares itself to be an "indivisible, secular, democratic, and social Republic"...
to intervene, without success. Although as late as 1970, the Petit Larousse
Petit Larousse
Le Petit Larousse Illustré, commonly known simply as Le Petit Larousse, is a French-language reference book first appearing in 1905 and later published in a 100th anniversary edition in 2005...
described it as having been a "French colony
Colony
In politics and history, a colony is a territory under the immediate political control of a state. For colonies in antiquity, city-states would often found their own colonies. Some colonies were historically countries, while others were territories without definite statehood from their inception....
from 1868 to 1936", France never claimed formal jurisdiction
Jurisdiction
Jurisdiction is the practical authority granted to a formally constituted legal body or to a political leader to deal with and make pronouncements on legal matters and, by implication, to administer justice within a defined area of responsibility...
or sovereignty
Sovereignty
Sovereignty is the quality of having supreme, independent authority over a geographic area, such as a territory. It can be found in a power to rule and make law that rests on a political fact for which no purely legal explanation can be provided...
over it.
External links
- The colonies by the Red Sea that France did not want by André Nied