Sharmarke Ali Saleh
Haji Sharmarke Ali Saleh الحاج شرماركي علي صالح | |
---|---|
Governor and Pasha of Zeila and Berbera | |
Reign | 1810s–1830s (Influential native trader based in Berbera), 1845–1852 (Berbera rule), 1841–1855 (Zeila rule), 1857–1861 (2nd term rule of Zeila)[1] |
Predecessor | Mohamed el-Barr |
Successor | Aboubakr Pasha |
Born | 1775 Maydh, Isaaq Sultanate |
Died | May 25, 1861 |
Religion | Sunni Islam |
Sharmarke Ali Saleh (
Overview
Little is known about Sharmarke's early life, except that he was born in the coastal town of
. ClanHaji Sharmarke received the famed explorer Richard Francis Burton in 1855 and Burton stayed in his home as a guest in Zeila.
Burton described Sharmarke as such:
The Hajj Sharmarkay in his youth was a man of valour: he could not read or write; but he carried in battle four spears, and his sword-cut was recognisable. He is now a man about sixty years old, at least six feet two inches in stature, large-limbed, and raw-boned: his leanness is hidden by long wide robes. He shaves his head and upper lip Shafei-fashion, and his beard is represented by a ragged tuft of red-stained hair on each side of his chin. A visit to Aden and a doctor cost him one eye, and the other is now white with age. His dress is that of an Arab, and he always carries with him a broad-bladed, silver-hilted sword. Despite his years, he is a strong, active, and energetic man, ever looking to the " main chance." With one foot in the grave, he meditates nothing but the conquest of Harar and Berberah, which, making him master of the seaboard, would soon extend his power as in days of old even to Abyssinia. To hear his projects, you would fancy them the offspring of a brain in the prime of youth: in order to carry them out he would even assist in suppressing the profitable slave-trade.[3]
Sharmarke started out as a Nakhuda (Captain) of a Somali vessel and trader. According to Frederick Forbes, a contemporary figure who retells the story of an attack of a trading brig in the Gulf of Aden, in 1825 the British brig the 'Mary Anne' on its way from Mauritius had been attacked and plundered in Berbera, resulting in several British crewman being killed. Sharmarke rescued and protected the remaining survivors, more so out of policy and pragmatism. This incident aided his burgeoning relations with the British government and eventually lead to a commercial treaty with the British East India Company some twenty years later.[4]
Rule
Rise and later rule in Berbera
Sharmarke rose to prominence as a dominant native trader during the Berbera fair held between October and April, which Mordechai Abir describes as "among the most important commercial events of the east coast of Africa."[5] The major Somali sub-clans of the Isaaq in Somaliland, caravans from Harar and the wider interior, and Banyan merchants from Porbandar, Mangalore and Mumbai gathered to trade. All of this was kept secret from European merchants.[6]
Sharmarke was also known for his trustworthy conduct when it came to matters of trade and general commerce,[7] and was also known as the 'African Rothschild' by his contemporaries:
By his [Sharmarke] industry and enterprise he has become the richest man along this coast; nor is there scarcely a prince or petty chief in the adjoining countries who is not indebted to this African Rothschild.[8]
Historically, the port of Berbera was controlled indigenously between the
Jealousies soon arose, and the Aial Yunus shortly after drove the Aial Ahmed out of Berbera, and declared themselves the only “Abbans” for strangers during the fair. The Aial Ahmed upon this took advantage of Berbera being deserted as usual, and, with the assistance of Hadj Shermarkhi Ali Saleh, governor of Zeyla, erected four martello towers on the spot generally occupied by the town, and hired thirty match-lockmen to garrison them. A battle of course ensued, and, assisted by the foreign allies, the Aial Ahmed drove the Aial Yunus away from the place.[11]
However, Sharmarke's actions was ultimately a political ruse to control Berbera for himself, which he ultimately achieved for several years.[12]
Governorship and rule of Zeila
As a tributary of
Allee Shurmalkee [Ali Sharmarke] has since my visit either seized or purchased this town, and hoisted independent colours upon its walls; but as I know little or nothing save the mere fact of its possession by that Soumaulee chief, and as this change occurred whilst I was in Abyssinia, I shall not say anything more upon the subject.[13]
However, the previous governor was not eager to relinquish his control of Zeila. Hence in 1841, Sharmarke chartered two dhows along with fifty Somali
During Sharmarke Ali Saleh's governorship of Zeila, Sharmarke's pre-existing trading activities with Southern Arabia and India continued unabated. Out of the twenty local vessels docked in Zeila ten were owned by Sharmarke himself, with two of the ships being "large trading dhows which convey yearly, about 300 tons of coffee and other goods" to Bombay.[15]
Downfall and Resurgence
In the year 1855, Sharmarke was deposed by his Danakil rival, Abu Bakr, who gained control of Zeila via the support of the French. However, Sharmarke was restored to power in 1857 and became the governor of Zeila again, ruling the historic port town until his death in 1861:
In April 1857, Coghlan reported that Boo Bekr (Abu Bakr), the ruler of Zeila, had been deposed by the Pasha of Hodeida, and Shermarkee restored to power. (BSC 1857, Coghlan-Bombay 4/24/1857)[16]
According to researcher Said M Shidad, it was Sharmarke's dream to restore authority to the lost state of Adal Sultanate[17]
Influence in Shewa, Harar and the Danakil Coast
Sharmarke's influence was not only limited to the Somali coast as he had many allies in the interior of the Somali country and even further in
Sharmarke Ali Saleh was also known to have great influence in parts of the Danakil (Afar) coast:
But the arrival of Ali Shermárki shortly changed this desultory conversation to weightier matters. This worthy old man, sheikh of the Somauli tribe Aber Gerhájis, possessing great influence and consideration among the entire Danákil population of the coast, had been invited from Zeyla, his usual place of residence, to assist in the extensive preparations making for the journey of the embassy.[19]
Sharmarke also collected a tribute of 1,200-1,600
Death
In 1861, Sharmarke was believed by the French to have a role in the murder of Henri Lambert, a former French consular agent at Aden while on his way to Tadjoura, and who was incidentally a major supporter of Sharmarke's main rival Abu Bakr, an Afar/Danakil slave trader. Both the Turkish Pasha of
Lineage
Mohammed Sharmarke, the eldest son of Sharmarke Ali Saleh, provided his father's genealogy to Richard Burton, who recorded it as such[24]
- Ishak Ibn Ahmed
- Ismail (Garhajis)
- Said (Habr Yunis)
- Arrah
- Musa
- Ibrahim
- Fikih
- Adan
- Mohamed
- Hamid
- Jibril
- Ali
- Awad
- Saleh
- Ali
- Sharmarke
- Ali
- Saleh
- Awad
- Ali
- Jibril
- Hamid
- Mohamed
- Adan
- Fikih
- Ibrahim
- Musa
- Arrah
- Said (Habr Yunis)
- Ismail (Garhajis)
See also
- Aden Province – key trading partner of the northern Somali coast
- Ahmad III ibn Abu Bakr – Emir of Harar, who instigated Berbera natives to oust Sharmarke (Not to be confused with Abu Bakr, Sharmarke's Afar rival)
- Harar – trading hub and religious center of the Horn of Africa
- Sahle Selassie – Negus of Shewa whose court was well acquainted with Sharmarke
- Zeila and Berbera – Major Somali trading ports of the day
References
- ISBN 9780810838734.
- ^ Marston, Thomas E. Britain's Imperial Role in the Red Sea Area, 1800–1878. Hamden: Conn., Shoe String Press, p. 473, 1961.
- ^ Burton. F., Richard (1856). First Footsteps in East Africa. pp. 19–20.
- JSTOR 219140.
- ^ w. Abir, Mordechai (1968). Ethiopia: The Era of the Princes; The Challenge of Islam and the Re-unification of the Christian Empire (1769-1855). London: Longmans. p. 16.
- ^ Abir, Era of the Princes, p. 17
- ^ Hunt, Freeman (1846). Hunt's Merchants' Magazine, Volume 15. Freeman Hunt. p. 138.
- ^ Johnston, Charles. Travels in Southern Abyssinia: Through the Country of Adal to the Kingdom of Shoa. Madden, 1844. p. 25.
- ^ Lewis, I.M. (1965). The Modern History of Somaliland: from Nation to State. Praeger. p. 35.
- ^ Z. H., Kour (1981). The History of Aden, 1839-72. Cass. p. 72.
- ^ Transactions of the Bombay Geographical Society, 1849, Volume 8, p. 185.
- ^ Africa in the Nineteenth Century Until the 1880s. Unesco. 1989. pp. 386.
- ^ Johnston, Southern Abyssinia, p. 33
- ^ Rayne, Henry (1921). Sun, sand and Somals; leaves from the note-book of a district commissioner in British Somaliland. Witherby, London. pp. 15–16.
- ^ Jama, Mohamed (1996). Constructing colonial hegemony in the Somaliland protectorate, 1941-1960 (Thesis). University of Toronto. p. 49.
- ^ Marston, Britain's Imperial Role, p. 255
- ^ Said M-Shidad H. The Impact of the Role of Traditional leaders on Politico-governance in Somalia: Present realities and Past Reflections. p. 9
- ^ Burton, First Footsteps, p. 302
- ^ Cornwallis Harris, William (1844). The Highlands of Æthiopia, Volume 1. Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans. p. 39.
- ^ Joint-Daguenet, Roger (1992). "Outre-MersRevue d'histoire". 294 (La côte africaine du golfe d'Aden au milieu du XIXe siècle): 87–113.
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(help) - ^ A. Bezabeh, Samson (2016). Subjects of Empires, Citizens of States: Yemenis in Djibouti and Ethiopia. Oxford University Press. p. 32.
- ^ Marston, Britain's Imperial Role, pp. 256-257,
- ^ Charton, Edouard (1862). Le tour du monde: nouveau journal des voyages, Volume 2; Volume 6 (in French). Libraires Hachette. p. 78.
- ^ Burton, First Footsteps, p. 18