ABSTRACT
In 1580 Portugal and its Empire came under the rule of Spain, and Iberian interest in the Indian Ocean started to decline. According to Yemeni legend, the Prophet Muhammad appeared in a vision to the fifteenth-century saint Umar al-Snaduli of Mokha, and revealed that a health-giving drink might be made from the berries of the coffee shrub which grew wild in the countryside. European visitors were impressed by Sanaa with its luxurious gardens, orchards and pleasure-houses. The Bombay administration decided to act without awaiting the approval of their superiors, and sent Haines back to take possession of Aden. In 1840 after years of relentless British pressure, Muhammad Aii could no longer avoid submitting to his Ottoman overlord, and as part of the settlement, he had to withdraw his troops from Arabia. This withdrawal left Yemen in chaos, as each tribal leader asserted his independence.
