History
Sometimes in the geological past, eruptions of the Perim volcano have blocked the Bab el Mandeb and thus the Red Sea evaporated to an empty hot dry salt-floored sink.
Afonso de Albuquerque, Portuguese governor of India, landed on Perim in 1513, but did not stay in the face of Ottoman opposition whose naval base at Suez dominated the Red Sea. France occupied Preim in 1738. In 1799, the island was briefly occupied by the British East India Company in preparation for the invasion of Egypt.
It was reoccupied by the British in 1857 and attached to the colony of Aden. A lighthouse, about 11 m tall, was built and lighted on April 1, 1861; it was rebuilt in 1912 to about 24 m tall.
From 1869 onward, the island was used as a coaling station for ships using the Suez Canal. In 1916, Turkish forces attempted to seize the island but were pushed back. British occupation continued until 1967, when the island was handed over to the Democratic People's Republic of Yemen.
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