Very interesting story about the massive political changes in Yemen in the 1940s. Had this saved in Arabic somewhere, so I translated this for you homies and cleaned it up with comrade ChatGPT.

Until the mid-twentieth century, Yemen in the 1700s retained a sense of enduring stability, seemingly impervious to the transformative winds of change. To external observers, Yemen appeared motionless and resistant to evolution. In the northern part of the country, the Zaydi Imamate stood as an institution with an eleven-century legacy, interrupted only briefly on two occasions. The entrenched divides, passed down through generations, manifested predictably in various relationships: Zaydis versus Shafi’is, Zaydis versus the diminishing Isma'ilis, Qahtanis and Seyyids, Upland tribes versus the villages and plantations of Lower Yemen, and coastal towns versus inland towns, among others. Although change had the potential to manifest, the fundamental structure remained steadfast.

Remarkably, Aden, under British administration, thrived as the world's second-busiest port at times, trailing only behind New York City. Meanwhile, families from Hadhramut sought prosperity in far-flung places such as Singapore and Indonesia. International trade in coffee flourished, sustaining activity in the western uplands and a few Red Sea ports, despite a decline initiated by evolving commercial and global cultivation patterns by the mid-eighteenth century. However, these shifts failed to shake the foundations of deeper traditions.

One might have anticipated that Aden, as a bustling port, could become a breeding ground for ideological shifts. It seemed plausible that subversive ideas could disseminate among the diverse migrant labor population, originating from all corners of Yemen, and subsequently find their way back to their respective homelands. Alternatively, returning Hadhramis might import provocative notions from their experiences abroad. Yet, when disruption eventually unfolded, it did so unexpectedly, emanating from a source that caught everyone off guard.

In the aftermath of World War II, the Kingdoms of Iraq and Saudi Arabia identified in Yemen a kindred, traditionalist state, deserving of reinforcement. This was particularly crucial as the Yemeni Imamate was undergoing a significant shift towards hereditary rule, mirroring the established royal traditions in Saudi Arabia and Iraq, in stark contrast to the Zaydi Shia tradition. A strategic plan was devised to enhance and modernize the Yemeni military. In 1940, Iraq implemented a multifaceted approach, flying in Yemeni students for enrollment in its military academy while concurrently dispatching a training mission to Yemen. This mission included Jamil Jamal, a young officer from Mosul, a decision that would prove to have profound consequences.

Merely four years earlier, Jamal had served as the aide-de-camp to the leader of the 1936 coup, directly implicated in the murder of the Iraqi Army's 'founder.' Despite the coup's failure and the demise of its leader, authorities sought to rehabilitate Jamal, consigning him to career exile as an officer in the riverine police. Unexpectedly, he found himself attached to the Yemen training mission, offering an opportunity for redemption. The mission concluded in 1943, yet Jamal chose to remain in Yemen. Five years later, he employed his coup-making skills, aligning with a plot to assassinate the ruling Imam. A new Imam briefly ruled in Sana’a before being overpowered by the slain Imam’s son and Jamal was executed soon after. This event triggered a series of complex local wars in both northern and southern Yemen, financially and logistically supported by regional powers. The ensuing two decades, spanning the 1960s and 1970s, witnessed a convoluted interplay of old cleavages, with Aden losing its significance due to geopolitical shifts brought about by the Arab-Israeli conflict.

Aden, once a bustling maritime destination, diminished in importance as the Suez Canal blockade during the Arab-Israeli conflict rendered it largely irrelevant. By the time the canal reopened, technological advancements allowed ships to travel longer distances without the need for restocking, further diminishing Aden's strategic value. In the late 1970s, a substantial portion of Yemen's male population sought employment as migrant laborers in the oil-rich Persian Gulf countries, reshaping the nation's economic landscape. As remittances from abroad became the primary source of income, Aden and traditional coffee cultivation ceded their prominence. The societal fabric in Yemen began to unravel swiftly, and the dissolution of long-standing structures occurred surprisingly rapidly. This tumultuous period prompted adventurous figures, such as the late President Ali Abdullah Saleh, to actively participate in reshaping Yemen's destiny.