French Somaliland

French Somaliland Côte française des Somalis (French) Xeebta Soomaaliyeed ee Faransiiska (Somali) ساحل الصوماليين الفرنسي وتوابعه (Arabic)
1886–1967
Flag Coat of arms
Anthem: La Marseillaise
French Somaliland in 1922
Status	Colony of France (1884–1946) Overseas territory of France (1946–1967)
Capital	Djibouti
Common languages	French Somali Afar Arabic (Ta'izzi-Adeni)
Religion	Christianity Islam
Demonym(s)	Somali French Somali
Government	Dependent territory
Governor
• 1896–1899	Léonce Lagarde
• 1965–1967	Louis Saget
Historical era	New Imperialism
• Established	May 20, 1886
• Italian invasion	June 18, 1940
• British occupation	December 28, 1942
• Status changed to overseas territory	October 27, 1946
• Renamed	July 5, 1967
Currency	French franc (1883–1949) French Somaliland franc (1949–1967)
Preceded by Succeeded by Obock Territory French Territory of the Afars and the Issas
Today part of	Djibouti

French Somaliland (French: Côte française des Somalis, lit. 'French Coast of the Somalis'; Somali: Xeebta Soomaaliyeed ee Faransiiska) was a French colony in the Horn of Africa. It existed between 1884 and 1967, at which became the French Territory of the Afars and the Issas. The Republic of Djibouti is its legal successor state.^[1]

History

French Somaliland was formally established in 1896 when the ruler and elders of the Issa clan signed treaties with the French. ^[2] On March 25, 1885, the French signed a treaty with the Gadabuursi, effectively making them a protectorate of France.^[3] On March 26, 1885, the French signed another treaty with the Issa making the latter a protectorate under the French. No money changed hands and the Somalis did not sign away any of their land rights; the agreement was meant to protect their land from outsiders with the help of the French. However, after the French sailors of the Le Pingouin vessel were mysteriously killed in Ambado in 1886, the French first blamed the British, then the Somalis, using the incident to lay claim to the entire southern territory.^{[4][5][6][7][8][9]}

Coast of the Somalis and dependencies

Map showing the new borders of French Somaliland following the cession of territory to Italian Eritrea in 1935

The construction of the Imperial Ethiopian Railway west into Ethiopia turned the port of Djibouti into a boomtown of 15,000^[10] at a time when Harar was the only city in Ethiopia with a greater population.^[11] Although the city's population fell after the completion of the line to Dire Dawa and the bankruptcy (and subsequent government bail-out) of the original company, the rail link allowed Djibouti to quickly overtake the caravan-based trade out of Zeila^[12] (then in British Somaliland) and become the premier port for coffee and other goods leaving southern Ethiopia and the Ogaden through Harar. Before the French aligned with the Issa, the Gadabuursi held the position of the first Senator of the country, and is the first Somali head of state to lead the territory compromising Djibouti today. Djama Ali Moussa, a former sailor, pursued his political aspirations and managed to become the first Somali democratically elected head of state in French Somaliland.^[13][14]

The railway continued operating after the Italian conquest of Ethiopia, but following the tumult of the Second World War, the area became a French overseas territory in 1946. In 1967, French Somaliland was renamed the French Territory of the Afars and the Issas and, in 1977, became the independent country of Djibouti.

See also

• List of governors of French Somaliland
• List of French possessions and colonies
• French colonial empire

References

1. France Ministère des colonies, Sous-secrétariat des colonies; DÉCRET N° 120, ARTICLE PREMIER (1896). "Bulletin officiel du Ministère des colonies". gallica.bnf.fr. Retrieved 2020-10-24.
2. "IREL, visualisation d'images". anom.archivesnationales.culture.gouv.fr. Archived from the original on 2020-11-04. Retrieved 2020-10-30.
3. Henry, J. (1885). Traité de protectorat de la France sur les territoires du pays des Gada-boursis. Ministère des Colonies-Traités (1687–1911).
4. Henri, Brunschwig (1968). "Histoire Africaine". Cahiers d'Études africaines. 8 (29): 32–47. doi:10.3406/cea.1968.3123. Archived from the original on 2022-09-28. Retrieved 2018-06-14.
5. "Tracer des frontières à Djibouti". djibouti.frontafrique.org. Archived from the original on 2020-10-27. Retrieved 2020-10-23.
6. Adolphe, Martens; Challamel, Augustin; C, Luzac (1899). Le Regime de Protectorats. Bruxelles: Institut Colonial Internationale. p. 383.
7. Simon, Imbert-Vier (2011). Trace des frontiere a Djibouti. Paris: Khartala. p. 128.
8. Raph Uwechue, Africa year book and who's who, (Africa Journal Ltd.: 1977), p. 209 ISBN 0903274051.
9. A Political Chronology of Africa, (Taylor & Francis: 2001), p. 132 ISBN 1857431162.
10. "Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Jibuti" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 15 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 414.
11. Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Abyssinia" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 1 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 86.
12. "Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Zaila" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 28 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 950.
13. Oberlé (Philippe), Hugot (Pierre) [1985], chapitre 4.
14. Subjects of Empires, Citizens of States: Yemenis in Djibouti and Ethiopia

Further reading

• Imbert-Vier, Simon (2008). Frontières et limites à Djibouti durant la période coloniale (1884–1977) (PhD thesis). Université de Provence–Aix-Marseille I.
• Cana, Frank Richardson (1911). "Somaliland" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 25 (11th ed.). pp. 378–384, see page 382. French Somaliland

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