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° Benin ° Cape Town ° Somalia ° Cote d'Ivoire
Present-day Somalia was known as the "Land of Punt" by ancient Egyptians, who sailed to Somalia's northern shores for incense and aromatic herbs.
During the 9th or 10th centuries, Somalis began pushing south from the Gulf of Aden coast; about the same time, the coastal region was settled by Arabs. Nomadic tribes occupied the interior, occasionally pushing into Ethiopian territory.
Explorers included the Zheng He from China during the 15th century and later the Portuguese, who attempted to establish Portuguese sovereignty over the Somali coast . . . without success. During this time, the main coastal centers continued to be controlled by Arab merchant families under the Sultanate of Oman.
During the 16th Century, Turkish rule extended to the northern coast, and the sultans of Zanzibar gained control in the south. In the early 19th century, Omani forces took over and Mogadishu became part of the Sultanate of Zanzibar.
Early on, the British gave little attention to Somalia initially; once away from the coastline, the region is mostly desert which the British deemed unprofitable. However, after 1839, the British, French and Italians began using Somalia's ports as coaling stations and as a source of food for ships enroute to India. From 1884 to 1886, the British signed a number of "protectorate" treaties with Somali chiefs of the northern area. The protectorate was first administered by the resident in Aden and later (1907) by the Colonial Office. From 1899 to 1920, British rule was disrupted by Abdallah bin Hasan's Holy War.
In 1862, the French established a coal-mining station at the site of Djibouti and the Italians settled in Eritrea. During 1888, the French and British confronted each other over their shares of the coast. The area around Djibouti became known as the "Cote Francaise des Somalis (French Coast of the Somalis), and the English stayed around Zeila and Berbera where they promised protection to various Somali clans.
Italian expansion in Somalia began in 1885, when Antonio Cecchi, an explorer, led an Italian expedition into the lower Juba region and established a commercial treaty with the sultan of Zanzibar. In 1889, Italy established protectorates over the eastern territories then under the nominal rule of the sultans of Obbia and of Alula; and in 1892, the sultan of Zanzibar leased concessions along the Indian Ocean coast to Italy.
The largest portions of the coastal region were claimed by both Italy and Ethiopia, which erupted in war by 1896 and the defeat of the Italians.
By 1896-1897, Ethiopia was granted the Ogaden and is ceded the southern strip of British Somaliland.
The Bristol Times and Mirror
Thursday, October 14, 1897
CRUSHING DEFEAT OF THE ABYSSINIANS.
THE RUMOURED MASSACRE OF A BRITISH EXPEDITION.
INTERVIEW WITH MR. J. BENET STANFORD.
REUTER'S SPECIAL SERVICE
A representative of Reuter's Agency yesterday had an interview with Mr. J. Benet Stanford, who has just returned direct from Somaliland, regarding whose safety anxiety was felt in consequence of the reported massacre of a British expedition in that region.
In reply to questions, Mr. Benet Stanford said: I believe the reported massacre of an expedition by Abyssinians to be nonsense. There are no expeditions in Somililand to cut up. Mr. Peel, who was with me, is well away to the south. Lord Delamere and Dr. Atkinson are in the neighbourhood of Lake Rudolph, Major Macdonald is on the trade route towards Uganda, and the Cavendish expedition is on the Kikyuy road. The whole story is probably founded on a baseless native rumor.
Regarding his own expedition, Mr. Benet Stanford said: My wife and myself and friend, Mr. Peel, left England in May last for Somaliland, our object being to reach the headwaters of the Juba or Gana river and to get some shooting in a part of the country that is scarcely known. We were, too, anxious to reach Sheikh Nussein, a very interesting place built of stone. This was our principal objective point. We travelled via Aden to Berbera, where we got our caravan together, taking with us stores for nine months. We wanted 100 camels, but, finding them difficult to get, we had to content ourselves with 40. We also had ponies, mules, and a trotting camel for carrying despatches. We had as an escort a headman and 60 Somalis, armed with 50 carbines. After a week in Berbera we went on for about 100 miles with part of our caravan to Ballymarolly, where we spent two or three weeks, and where we were joined by the rest of our escort. The day after their arrival a despatch came out from Berbera with orders from the Political Resident at Aden that we were not to go south of parallel 8 or west of 45, which means that we were to keep clear of the Abyssinians. Naturally, we were greatly annoyed at this, more especially as we knew there was nothing to fear from the Abyssinians. As I had my wife with me, I could not well go on, in view of this order; but my friend, Mr. Peel, decided to proceed, despite the Resident's warning, and he left us, continuing his journey south as originally planned. I have not heard of him since. He left us at Farfanya at the end of June, but he is perfectly safe, and there need not be the slightest anxiety regarding him. My wife and myself then turned west, and went into an unknown part of the land, and during our four and a half months' stay we had some very fair sport. My wife shoots a good deal, and she was fortunate in securing a rhinoceros, several leopards and hartebeests; in fact, we secured a very good bag. The weather was very hot and dry, and we enjoyed good health. Later we turned to the west, and marched slowly back to Berbera, from which place we came direct home. Everywhere we found the people most friendly. All Somalis in the interior were armed with Remingtons or Italian rifles, each having 40 or 50 rounds of ammunition.
For the most part, those arms had been imported through Obock by the French, the remainder having been taken from the Abyssinians, who had captured them from Italians.
We did not come across any Abyssinians while in the interior (continued Mr. Stanford). We came across Noor Bori, a powerful Somali chief, who had just come back from fighting the Abyssinians. He told me that an Abyssinian force under Ras Makonnen, consisting of 3,000 armed men, had been raiding down Webbe Shebeyli nearly as far as the 45th parallel. Noor Bori's orders to his men were not to attack the Abyssinians, but to wait until the latter had emptied their rifles, and then rush upon them. This they did with great success. The Abyssinian force, he said, was annihilated, only Si Eati being sent back to carry the news of the defeat. Ras Makonnen, he told me, was himself killed. This disaster had taken place at the end of June, at a spot about 100 miles from where we were at the time. The whole neighborhood was greatly excited, and the possession of so many Italian rifles by the Somalis there left very little doubt that what the Somali chief told me was correct. The latest news from Harrar was that an Abyssinian army was on the point of being dispatched against the Somalis, who were eagerly looking forward to another fight. I sent full details of this disaster to the British officials at Aden.
Asked, in conclusion, if he had seen anything of the Government expedition under Major Macdonald, which had gone into the interior in connection with the Abyssinian frontier questions, Mr. Benet Stanford replied: So far as we could learn Major Macdonald's object was to finally settle with the Governor of Harar questions connected with the Somali boundary, Menelik considering himself to be the ruler of the country right down to Mombasa. Major Macdonald at first intended to go up the Juba, but afterwards changed his plans, and he proposed to go up the Uganda road to Kikuyu, using the railway as far as possible, and to proceed to Lake Rudolph, following Count Teleki's route, afterwards working back across Somaliland.