#portectorate

British Somaliland: The Protectorate on the Horn of Africa

The Somaliland Protectorate, more informally and better known as British Somaliland, was created in 1884 and ruled by Great Britain until independence was won in 1960, when the Somali Republic was formed. Strategically important at the mouth of the Red Sea, Britain wanted to control this coastline of the Horn of Africa to maintain vital links between Europe and British India via the Suez Canal. The Somaliland Protectorate was the scene of a long and infamous rebellion to colonial rule led by the inspirational Muslim leader Sayyid Muḥammad 'Abdallāh Hassan, whom the British called the 'Mad Mullah.'

Somalia Before the 19th Century

The area in the Horn of Africa where the Somali people live has an environment that is largely subdesert steppe, making it an area unsuitable for high-density populations and prone to periods of extreme drought. Much more advantageous is its geographical position at the mouth of the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. An Arab sultanate in the medieval period, this coastal region was known as the Cinnamon Coast (for its import of that precious spice from the Indian subcontinent), with Mogadishu to the south (in what would later become Italian Somaliland) flourishing as one of the major ports of East Africa. The region was the northernmost part of the trade network that thrived along the Swahili coast of East Africa.

Somali individuals claimed allegiance to a complex web of specific tribes, clans, and the descendants of prominent rulers. The Somali people adopted Sunni Islam from Arab traders from as early as the second half of the 7th century. The inland Somali people were mostly transhumant herders, that is, they moved regularly with their livestock (cattle and sheep) each season to find the most favourable grazing areas. Although the Somali people are “divided into many traditionally autonomous and warlike groups … a powerful sense of cultural unity” (Oliver, 85). Two unifying factors are the Somali Cushitic language (both spoken and written) and Islam. The Somali people adopted the Arabian camel and proved to be adept long-distance traders. By the 19th century, the northern coast of the Horn of Africa was a dependency of the Ottoman Empire, while the southern part was a dependency of Zanzibar. Following the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869, Egypt began to exert more control over the coast of northern Somalia. The two major ports that Egypt helped develop were Zeila and Berbera.

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