Socotra, also Sokotra or Suquţrá, island, southeastern Yemen, in the Indian Ocean, located southeast of the entrance to the Gulf of Aden. The principal commercial products are ghee (a semifluid clarified butter), aloes, and incense. Many inhabitants keep extensive herds of goats and cows. For much of its early history, Socotra was part of a semi-independent state ruled by the Mahra sultans of southern Arabia. Their control of Socotra was interrupted by a brief period of Portuguese occupation during the early 1550s. In 1886 the sultan accepted British protection for the entire sultanate, and in 1967 the sultanate ended as Socotra became part of the People's Republic of South Yemen (later named the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen). Socotra was incorporated into the new, unified Republic of Yemen when the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen and the Yemen Arab Republic merged in 1990. Area, 3,100 sq km (1,200 sq mi).