Modern history of Yemen

Yemen's modern history began in 1918 when North Yemen became independent of the Ottoman Empire. North Yemen became a republic in 1962, but it was not until 1967 that the British Empire, which had established a protection zone around the southern port of Aden in the 19th century, withdrew from what became South Yemen. In 1970, the southern government adopted a system of communist rule. The two countries were formally united as the Republic of Yemen on May 22, 1990.