French Somaliland

Djibouti, 1896–1967. Draft, not yet reviewed

French Somaliland was a French colony in the Horn of Africa. French Somaliland was formally established in 1896 when the ruler and elders of the Issa clan signed treaties with the French. The construction of the Imperial Ethiopian Railway west into Ethiopia turned the port of Djibouti into a boomtown of 15,000 at a time when Harar was the only city in Ethiopia with a greater population. The area became a French overseas territory in 1946, and in 1967 it was renamed the French Territory of the Afars and the Issas.

Seat of power: Djibouti

No rulers documented for this era yet.

Culture

• The French subsequently founded Djibouti in 1888, in a previously uninhabited stretch of coast.
• The rail link allowed Djibouti to quickly overtake the caravan-based trade out of Zeila and become the premier port for coffee and other goods leaving southern Ethiopia and the Ogaden through Harar.
• In 1958, on the eve of neighbouring Somalia's independence in 1960, a referendum was held in the territory to decide whether or not to join the Somali Republic or to remain with France. The referendum turned out in favour of a continued association with France, partly due to a combined yes vote by the sizable Afar ethnic group and resident Europeans.

Picture

Djibouti City is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Djibouti, and it served as the capital of French Somaliland.

Image: Middayexpress (derivative work), CC BY-SA 4.0, file

Sources

• French Somaliland (Wikipedia)
• French Somaliland (Wikidata)
• About the picture (Wikipedia)

Text adapted from the Wikipedia articles listed as sources, CC BY-SA 4.0.