Italian Somaliland
Italian Somalia Somalia Italiana ( Arabic )Al-Sumal Al-Italiy | |||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1889–1936 | |||||||||||||||||
Motto: Per l'onore d'Italia "For the honour of Italy" | |||||||||||||||||
Anthem: Victor Emmanuel III | |||||||||||||||||
Governor | |||||||||||||||||
• 1889–1893 (first) | Vincenzo Filonardi | ||||||||||||||||
• 1936 (last) | Angelo De Ruben | ||||||||||||||||
Historical era | Relinquished by Italy | 10 February 1947 | |||||||||||||||
1 April 1950 | |||||||||||||||||
1 July 1960 | |||||||||||||||||
Currency | Italian lira (1889–1909) Somali rupia (1909–1925) Somali lira (1925–1938) | ||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
Today part of | Somalia |
Italian Somaliland (
Italy gradually secured much of the territory in the 1880s through a series of protection treaties.[4] Starting in the 1890s, the Bimaal and Wa'dan revolts near Merca marked the beginning of Somali resistance to Italian expansion, coinciding with the rise of the anti-colonial Dervish movement in the north.[5] By the end of 1927, following a two year military campaign against Somali rebels, Rome finally asserted authority over the entirety of Italian Somaliland.[6]
In 1936, the region was integrated into
History
The late 19th century had a huge impact in the
First settlement
At the end of the 19th century, a growing social-political movement developed within Italy to start expanding its influence, since many other European countries had already been doing so, which was effectively leaving Italy behind. Italy also had serious economic problems.[8] It is also argued by some historians that Italy had a minor interest in the mutton and livestock that were then plentiful in Somalia, though whatever designs Italy may have had on the resource-challenged Somali landscape were undoubtedly subordinate to its interest in the region's ports and the waters and lands to which they provided access.[3]
Cesare Correnti organized an expedition under the Società Geografica Italiana in 1876. The next year, the travel journal L’Esploratore was established by Manfredo Camperio. The "Società di Esplorazioni Commerciali in Africa" was created in 1879, with the Italian industrial establishment involved as well.[9] The "Club Africano", which three years later became the "Società Africana D’Italia", was also established in Somalia in 1880.[10] The first recorded act of Somali resistance began in October 1893, when Vincenzo Filonardi disembarked at the city of Merca to create a colonial outpost. During the visit a captain of one of the Italian vessels, Lieutenant Maurizio Talmone, was assassinated.[5]
Majeerteen-Italian treaties
History of Somalia |
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Somalia portal |
In late 1888, Sultan
The terms of each treaty specified that Italy was to steer clear of any interference in the Sultanates' respective administrations.[13] In return for Italian arms and an annual subsidy, the Sultans conceded to a minimum of oversight and economic concessions.[14] The Italians also agreed to dispatch a few ambassadors to promote both the Sultanates' and their own interests.[11] The new protectorates were thereafter managed by Vincenzo Filonardi through a chartered company.[14] An Anglo-Italian border protocol was later signed on 5 May 1894, followed by an agreement in 1906 between Cavalier Pestalozza and General Swaine acknowledging that Baran fell under the Majeerteen Sultanate's administration.[11]
The last piece of land acquired by Italy in Somalia in order to form Italian Somaliland was the Jubaland region.[12] Britain ceded the territory in 1925 as a reward for the Italians having joined the Allies in World War I.[15] The British retained control of the southern half of the partitioned Jubaland territory, which was later called the Northern Frontier District (NFD).[16]
Italo-Abyssinian campaign
In January 1887 Italian troops from Somalia fought a
Coastal settlement
Italy gained control of the ports of the
On 5 April 1908, the Italian Parliament enacted a basic law to unite all of the parts of southern Somalia into an area called "Somalia Italiana". The colonial power was then divided between the Parliament, the metropolitan government, and the colonial government. The power of the colonial government was the only power that was changed. The civil governor controlled export rights, regulated the rate of exchange, raised or lowered native taxes, and administered all civil services and matters relating to hunting, fishing, and conservation.[23] The governor was in control of the police force, while nominating local residents and military arrangements.[23]
From 5 April 1908 to 5 May 1936, the Royal Corps of Somali Colonial Troops (Regio corpo truppe coloniali della Somalia Italiana), originally called the "Guard Corps of Benadir", served as the territory's formal military corps. At the start of its establishment, the force had 2,600 Italian officers.[21] Between 1911 and 1912, over 1,000 Somalis from Mogadishu served as combat units along with Eritrean and Italian soldiers in the Italo-Turkish War.[24] Most of the troops stationed never returned home until they were transferred back to Italian Somaliland in preparation for the invasion of Ethiopia in 1935.[25]
Effective Italian control remained largely limited to the coastal areas until the early 1920s.
Colonial development and fascist era
In 1920, a member of the
In November 1920, the
After
Following an examination of the layout of the land, the Italians began new local infrastructure projects, including the construction of hospitals, farms and schools.[32]
The relationship between the Sultanate of Hobyo and Italy soured when Sultan Kenadid refused the Italians' proposal to allow a
In 1926, the agricultural colony of
In 1928, the Italian authorities built the
Following a two year long Somali resistance, in late 1927 Italy finally extended authority across the entire territory.[6] In the early 1930s, the new Italian Governors, Guido Corni and Maurizio Rava, started a policy of assimilation of the Somalis. Many Somalis were enrolled in the Italian colonial troops, and thousands of Italian colonists moved to live in Mogadishu. The city grew in size and some small manufacturing companies opened up. The Italians also settled in agricultural areas around the capital, such as Jowhar and Janale (Genale).[26][43]
In 1930, there were 22,000 Italians living in Italian Somaliland, representing 2% of the territory's population. The majority resided in the capital Mogadishu, with other Italian communities concentrated in Jowhar, Adale (Itala), Janale, Jamame and Kismayo.[44][45]
In October 1934, Crown Prince Umberto II made his second publicized visit to Italian Somaliland.
Italian East Africa (1936–1941)
By 1935, Mogadishu began to serve as a major naval base and port for the Italians.
In June 1936, after the war ended, Italian Somaliland became part of Italian East Africa (Africa Orientale Italiana) forming the Somalia Governorate. The new colony of the Italian Empire also included Ethiopia and Eritrea.[57] To commemorate the victory, an Arch of Triumph was constructed in Mogadishu.[58]
From 1936 to 1940, new roads were constructed in the region, such as the "Imperial Road" from Mogadishu to
Since the start of the colony, many Somali troops fought in the so-called
In 1935, there were over 50,000 Italians settlers living in Italian Somaliland, constituting 5% of the territory's population.[45][61][62] Of those, 20,000 resided in Mogadishu (called officially in Italian language:Mogadiscio), representing around 40% of the city's 50,000 residents.[61][63][64] Mogadishu was an administrative capital of Italian East Africa, and new buildings were erected in the Italian architectural tradition. Other Italian settler communities were concentrated in Jowhar, Adale (Itala), Janale, Jamame, and Kismayo.[65] These figures do not include the more than 220,000 Italian soldiers stationed throughout Italian Somaliland during the Second Italo-Ethiopian War.[66]
The colony was also one of the most developed in Africa in terms of the standard of living of the colonists and of the local inhabitants, mainly in the urban areas. By 1940, the Villaggio Duca degli Abruzzi ("Villabruzzi"; Jowhar) had a population of 12,000 people, of whom nearly 3,000 were Italian Somalis, and enjoyed a notable level of development with a small manufacturing area with agricultural industries (sugar mills, etc.).[67]
In the second half of 1940, Italian troops invaded British Somaliland,[68] and ejected the British. The Italians also occupied Kenyan areas bordering Jubaland around the villages of Moyale and Buna.[69] Although the Italian leadership believed were unsure where the British army would land first, Operation Canvas, to capture southern Somalia occurred first in January 1941, whereas the subsequent attempt to capture British Somaliland happened two months later in Operation Appearance.[70][71]
In the spring of 1941, Britain regained control of British Somaliland and conquered Italian Somaliland with the Ogaden. However, until the summer of 1943, there was an Italian guerrilla war in all the areas of the former Italian East Africa.
British Military Administration (1941–1950)
British forces occupied Italian Somaliland and militarily administered the territory as well as British Somaliland. Faced with growing Italian political pressure inimical to continued British tenure and Somali aspirations for independence, the Somalis and the British came to see each other as allies. The first modern Somali political party, the Somali Youth Club (SYC), was subsequently established in Mogadishu in 1943; it was later renamed the Somali Youth League (SYL).[72] The SYL evolved into the dominant party and had a moderate ideology. Hizbia Digil Mirifle Somali (HDMS) party served as the principal opposition to the right, although its platform was generally in agreement with that of the SYL.[73]
In November 1949, the United Nations finally opted to grant Italy trusteeship of Italian Somaliland, but only under close supervision and on the condition — first proposed by the Somali Youth League (SYL) and other nascent Somali political organizations, such as Hizbia Digil Mirifle Somali (later Hizbia Dastur Mustaqbal Somali, or HDMS) and the Somali National League (SNL), that were then agitating for independence — that Somalia achieve independence within ten years.[74][75]
Trust Territory of Somalia (1950–1960)
In 1949, when the British military administration ended, Italian Somaliland became a
On 1 April 1950, the Amministrazione fiduciaria italiana della Somalia (AFIS) began its rule.
Italian was an official language in Italian Somaliland during the Fiduciary Mandate, as well as in the first years of independence. By 1952, the majority of Somalis had some understanding of the language.[81]
Independence (1960)
On 1 July 1960, the Trust Territory of Somaliland (the former Italian Somaliland) and the former British Somaliland united to form the Somali Republic, with Mogadishu as the nation's capital.[7][82] This day is celebrated as Somalia's Independence Day.
A government was formed by
Governors
- 1889–1893 Vincenzo Filonardi
- 1893–1896 Vacant
- 1896–1897 Vincenzo Filonardi
- 1897–1897 Ernesto Dulio
- 1897–1898 Giorgio Sorrentino
- 1898–1905 Emilio Dulio
- 1905–1906 Luigi Mercatelli
- 1906–1907 Giuseppe Salvago Raggi
- 1907–1908 Tommaso Carletti
- 1908–1910 Tommaso Carletti
- 1910–1916 Giacomo De Martino
- 1916–1919 Giovanni Cerrina Feroni
- 1920–1923 Carlo Ricci
- 1923–1928 Cesare Maria De Vecchi
- 1928–1931 Guido Corni
- 1931–1935 Maurizio Rava
- 1935–1936 Rodolfo Graziani
- 1936–1937 Angelo De Ruben
- 1937–1939 Francesco Saveno
- 1939–1940 Gustavo Pesenti
- 1940–1941 Carlo De Simone
See also
References
- ^ Caniglia, Giuseppe (1935). Genti di Somalia. Rome: Paolo Cremonese.
- ^ L'Italia in Africa: serie storica. La politica coloniale dell'Italia negli atti, decumenti e discussioni parlamentari; testo di Giacomo Perticone, e note redanionali di richiam agli atti parlamentari a cura di Guglielmo Guglielmi, pg 246–247
- ^ a b Tripodi, Paolo. The Colonial Legacy in Somalia, p 12-13
- ^ Mariam Arif Gassem, Somalia: clan vs. nation (s.n.: 2002), p.4
- ^ a b Carpanelli & Scovazzi 2020, p. 88-89.
- ^ a b Carpanelli & Scovazzi 2020, p. 16.
- ^ ISBN 9781593394929.
- ^ Tripodi, Paolo. The Colonial Legacy in Somalia. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1999. p 16
- ^ Esplorazione commerciale. Clarendon Press. 1901. p. 103.
- ^ Bollettino della Società geografica italiana. Clarendon Press. 1901. p. 948.
- ^ a b c Issa-Salwe (1996), 34–35.
- ^ a b Fitzgerald, Nina J. Somalia (New York: Nova Science, 2002), p 33
- ^ Issa-Salwe 1996, pp. 34–35.
- ^ a b Hess (1964), 416–17.
- ^ a b Oliver, Roland Anthony (1976). History of East Africa, Volume 2. Clarendon Press. p. 7.
- ^ Osman, Mohamed Amin AH (1993). Somalia, proposals for the future. SPM. pp. 1–10.
- Ben-Ghiat, Ruth, Italy and its colonies, in A historical companion to postcolonial literatures: continental Europe and Africa, Poddar, Prem, Patke, Rejeev S. and Jensen, Lars eds., Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2008, p. 310
- ^ Olsen, James Stuart and Shadle, Robert, eds., Historical dictionary of European imperialism, Westport, Conn.: 1991, Greenwood Press, p. 567
- ^ Hess, Robert L. Italian Colonialism in Somalia Chicago: University of Chicago P, 1966. p 101
- ^ Cassanelli, Lee V. The End of slavery in Africa, Meiers, Suzanne and Roberts, Richard L., eds, University of Wisconsin Press, p. 310
- ^ ISBN 9780317113112.
- ^ Carpanelli & Scovazzi 2020, p. 90.
- ^ a b Hess, Robert L. Italian Colonialism, p 102
- ^ W. Mitchell. Journal of the Royal United Service Institution, Whitehall Yard, Volume 57, Issue 2. p. 997.
- ^ a b William James Makin (1935). War Over Ethiopia. p. 227.
- ^ a b c Ben-Ghiat, p. 310
- ^ Omar, Mohamed (2001). The Scramble in the Horn of Africa. p. 402.
This letter is sent by all the Dervishes, the Amir, and all the Dolbahanta to the Ruler of Berbera ... We are a Government, we have a Sultan, an Amir, and Chiefs, and subjects ... (reply) In his last letter the Mullah pretends to speak in the name of the Dervishes, their Amir (himself), and the Dolbahanta tribes. This letter shows his object is to establish himself as the Ruler of the Dolbahanta
- ^ Hess, Robert L. Italian Colonialism, p 146
- ISBN 9781859725788.
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- ^ The Majeerteen Sultanates
- ^ ISBN 9780862324438.
- ISBN 9780313378577.
- ^ Ismail, Ismail Ali (2010). Governance: The Scourge and Hope of Somalia. Trafford Publishing. p. xxiii.
- ^ Ben-Ghiat, p. 311
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- ^ ISBN 9781101078570.
- ^ ISBN 9780873386586.
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- ^ Conrad Norton; Uys Krige (1941). Vanguard of victory: A short review of the South African victories in East Africa, 1940-1941, Volume 8, Issue 19. p. 437.
- ^ Bevilacqua, Piero. Storia dell'emigrazione italiana. p. 233
- ^ Article with photos on a 2005 visit to 'Villaggio Duca degli Abruzzi' and areas of former Italian Somaliland (in Italian)
- ^ a b "Population of Somalia in 1939". Archived from the original on 4 November 2014. Retrieved 4 November 2013.
- ISBN 9789772004997.
- ^ Scott Publishing Company (1934). Scott's Monthly Stamp Journal, Volume 15. p. 307.
- ^ ISBN 9789004255227.
- ^ American Philatelic Association (1996). The American Philatelist, Volume 110, Issues 7-12. p. 618.
- ^ Sandafayre. "King's Visit to Somaliland". Archived from the original on 8 May 2014. Retrieved 7 May 2014.
- ^ Trud., 1989 - World politics. New Times. p. 120.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ISBN 9781134003754.
- ISBN 9781412981767.
- ^ Harold D. Nelson (1982). Somalia, a Country Study. p. 24.
- ISBN 9780275939656.
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- ^ American Universities Field Staff. Reports Service: Northeast Africa series, Volumes 7-11. p. 112.
- ^ Paul S. Gilbert; Scott Winfield Street; Robert A. Blume (1967). Beginning Somali History. p. 75.
- ^ "Not everyone knows that ... zaptiehs (in Italian)". Retrieved 12 April 2014.
- ^ ISBN 9780748623945.
- ^ "Gallo, Adriano. Memories from Somalia". Hiiraan Online. 12 July 2011. Retrieved 14 October 2013.
- ^ McDannald, Alexander Hopkins (1940). The Americana annual: Americana Corporation, 1940. p. 399.
- ^ Rolando Scarano. "The Italian Rationalism in the colonies 1928 to 1943: The "new architecture" of Terre Overseas (In Italian)" (PDF). Retrieved 4 November 2013.
- ^ Fernando Termentini. "Somalia, a nation that does not exist (In Italian)". Archived from the original on 5 November 2013. Retrieved 4 November 2013.
- ^ Nicolle, David, "The Italian Invasion of Abyssinia 1935–1936", p. 41
- ^ Article with photos on a 2005 visit to 'Villaggio Duca degli Abruzzi' and areas of former Italian Somaliland (in italian)
- ISBN 9780521338356.
- ^ "The loss of Italian East Africa (in Italian)". La Seconda Guerra Mondiale. Archived from the original on 2 August 2009. Retrieved 29 March 2014.
- ISBN 978-1-87420-991-1.
- OCLC 828603112.
- ^ I. M. Lewis, A pastoral democracy: a study of pastoralism and politics among the Northern Somali of the Horn of Africa (LIT Verlag Münster: 1999), p.304.
- ISBN 9780862325886.
- ^ Zolberg, Aristide R., et al., Escape from Violence: Conflict and the Refugee Crisis in the Developing World, (Oxford University Press: 1992), p.106
- ^ Gates, Henry Louis, Africana: The Encyclopedia of the African and African American Experience, (Oxford University Press: 1999), p.1749
- OCLC 620115177.
- ^ Tripodi, Paolo (1999). "Back to the Horn: Italian Administration and Somalia's Troubled Independce". The International Journal of African Historical Studies. 32 (2–3).
- ^ a b "1956 in Elections in Somalia". AFRICAN ELECTIONS DATABASE. Retrieved 29 December 2013.
- ISBN 9780810866041.
- ^ "Somalia-British Military Administration". Mongabay. Retrieved 15 April 2014.
- ^ United States. Hydrographic Office (1952). Publications, Issue 61. p. 9.
- ^ Encyclopædia Britannica, The New Encyclopædia Britannica, (Encyclopædia Britannica: 2002), p.835
- ^ Greystone Press Staff, The Illustrated Library of The World and Its Peoples: Africa, North and East, (Greystone Press: 1967), p. 338
Bibliography
- Carpanelli, Elena; Scovazzi, Tullio (2020). Political and legal aspects of Italian colonialism in Somalia. G. Giappichelli editore. OCLC 1150848404.
- ISBN 187420991X.
Further reading
- Antonicelli, Franco. Trent'anni di storia italiana 1915 - 1945. Mondadori Editore. Torino, 1961.
- Archivio Storico Diplomatico (1975), Inventario dell'Archivio Storico del Ministero Africa Italiana (in Italian), vol. 1: Eritrea, Etiopia, Somalia (1857–1939), Rome: Ministry of Foreign Affairs, archived from the originalon 12 December 2017, retrieved 7 August 2017
- Cana, Frank Richardson (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 25 (11th ed.). pp. 378–384, see page 383.
Italian Somaliland
. - Fitzgerald, Nina J. Somalia. Nova Science, Inc. New York, 2002.
- Hess, Robert L. Italian Colonialism in Somalia. University of Chicago P. Chicago, 1966.
- Tripodi, Paolo. The Colonial Legacy in Somalia. St. Martin's P Inc. New York, 1999.
External links
- "La Somalia Italiana", written in 1925 by Romolo Onor (in Italian).
- "Atlante delle colonie italiane". Detailed Atlas of Italian colonies, written by Baratta Mario and Visintin Luigi in 1928 (in Italian).
- Border changes between Ethiopia and "Somalia Italiana"in the 1930s
- Collection of photos of "Somalia italiana" (1885-1960)
- Rivista Militare: Maps of Italian control of Somalia