Italian Somaliland
Italian Somaliland comprised self-ruling protectorates and colonial possessions of the Kingdom of Italy in present-day Somalia. It lasted from the late 19th century to 1941, when it was occupied by British troops; from 1950 to 1960 it was revived as the UN Trust Territory of Somalia under Italian administration.
Following two treaties in 1889, Italy established a protectorate over northern Somali territories ruled by the Sultanate of Hobyo and the Majeerteen Sultanate. In the south, the Italians established colonial rule over Adale in 1892, Mogadishu, Merca, Barawa and Warsheekh in 1893, Giumbo and Luuq in 1895, Jazeera in 1897, Afgooye, Maregh, Barire, Mellèt, Danane and Balàd in 1907–1908, and the territories between the Shabelle and Jubba rivers in the following years. During this period, the Bimaal and Wa'dan revolts near Merca marked the Somali resistance to Italian expansion, coinciding with the rise of the anti-colonial Dervish movement led by Mohammed Abdullah Hassan'.
Effective Italian control remained initially limited to the coastal areas and Benadir territory until after the collapse of the Dervish movement. As a reward for the Italian participation in World War I on the Entente side, the UK ceded the territory of Oltre Giuba to Italy in 1925. By the end of 1927, the territories of Hobyo Sultanate and Majeerteen Sultanate, in the northern regions of Somalia, were annexed after the two year long, Campaign of the Sultanates. Through its history, various infrastructure projects were set up, most notably railways, dams, farms and villages, and 50.000 Italians settled in the colony.
In 1936, the region was integrated into Italian East Africa as the Somalia Governorate. This would last until Italy's loss of the region in 1941, during the East African campaign of World War II. Italian Somaliland then came under [|British military administration] until 1950, when it became a United Nations trusteeship, the Trust Territory of Somalia under Italian administration. On 1 July 1960, the Trust Territory of Somalia united with the former British Somaliland to form the Somali Republic.
History
Background and early contacts (1876-1880)
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. The "Club Africano", which three years later became the "Società Africana D’Italia", was also established in Somalia in 1880.Treaties of protection and trade (1888-1891)
In late 1888, Sultan Yusuf Ali Kenadid sent a treaty request to Italy to make the Sultanate of Hobyo an Italian protectorate. The treaty was signed on February 8, 1889. His rival Boqor Osman Mahamuud signed a similar agreement vis-a-vis his own Majeerteen Sultanate on April 7, 1889. Both rulers had entered into the protectorate treaties to advance their own expansionist goals, with Sultan Kenadid looking to use Italy's support in his ongoing power struggle with Boqor Osman over the Majeerteen Sultanate, as well as in a separate conflict with the Hiraab Imamate, who was already facing serious decline, over an area to the south of Hobyo. In signing the agreements, the rulers also hoped to exploit the rival objectives of the European imperial powers to help ensure the continued independence of their territories.The Italians, for their part, were interested in the largely arid territory mainly because of its ports, which could grant them access to the strategically important Suez Canal and the Gulf of Aden.
The terms of each treaty specified that Italy was to steer clear of any interference in the sultanates' respective administrations. In return for Italian arms and an annual subsidy, the sultans conceded to a minimum of oversight and economic concessions. The Italians also agreed to dispatch a few ambassadors to promote both the sultanates' and their own interests.
Italian ships regularly conducted reconnaissance missions off the coast of Somalia and visited many localities, not only in the territories under Italy's protection but also those nominally claimed by Italys trade partner, Zanzibar.
Early Italian Expeditions and Somali engagements (1890-1896)
On April 24, 1890, the Italian frigate Volta visited Warsheikh. Sub-lieutenant Carlo Zavagli went onshore, intending to invite the local leaders to collect some gifts aboard. He was attacked, wounded, and died on the boat, which was hastily trying to get out to sea while the rest of the crew fired wildly to cover their escape. A sailor named Bertorello was hit by the Somalis while working on the anchor, suffering mortal wounds.Sheekh Ahmed Gabyow, also known as Sheekh Gabyow, recited this poem at the end of June 1891 after the battles of Cadale and Warsheikh. The killing of Zavagli along with 60 Italian colonial troops was said to have been the first call for Somali nationalism.
Creation of Italian outposts on the Banaadir coast
The Italian government tasked its consul at Zanzibar, captain Filonardi, to create colonial outposts on the Banaadir coast. The port of Adale was occupied in February 1891 and the location was renamed Itala. This began Italy's territorial occupation in Somalia. The governments of Rome and London agreed on the borders of their respective zones of influence with various protocols.In October and November 1893, Filonardi and the Italian navy occupied Merca, Mogadishu, Barawa and Warsheekh. The first recorded act of Somali resistance occurred on October 2, 1893, in Merca. During the visit a captain of one of the Italian vessels, Lieutenant Maurizio Talmone, was assassinated by Somalis. As a retaliation, Italian ships bombarded the coasts of Nimmo and Jasira, before withdrawing to their limited areas of influence on the coast for numerous years. Furthermore, the commander of the Staffetta deposed the local chief and captured leaders of the town. In the territories it administered, the Filonardi company was given the difficult task of increasing trade and customs revenues, fighting slavery, and controlling the local walis and tribes. Another expedition by Filonardi occupied Giumbo on May 1, 1895.
As the sub-concession to Filonardi expired, a new contract entrusted the management of the ports for 48 years to the "Italian Benadir Commercial Company", following a transitional period under a provisional administration led by Consul Cecchi. However, in November 1896, while on a pleasure trip, Consul Antonio Cecchi , the Societá del Benadir administrator and also the de facto governor of Southern Somaliland, and his lieutenants, were ambushed at Lafoole, a small village a few kilometres from Afgooye, south of Muqdisho, by Wa'daan fighters, who massacred 14 of the Italians, including Cecchi. This was dubbed “The Somali Adwa” for its disastrous aftermath.
Sorrentino expedition
The Italian government sent captain Giorgio Sorrentino to Mogadishu, giving him the task to conduct a punitive expedition to avenge Lafoole. On February 1, 1897, a garrison led by Sorrentino, protected by artillery and troops desembarked from the Italian ships Elba and Governolo, set out to recover the unburied skeletons of the Italians killed at Lafoole. Sorrentino organized a funeral ceremony, with military honors, to bury the fallen in a chapel near the shore. A monument was dedicated to the massacre. Immediately after the ceremony, a group of men went to the coastal dune, about fifty meters high, to choose the site where a fort would later be built. The stronghold was armed with four 75 mm guns and, it was named Fort Cecchi after one of the fallen.After the bodies were recovered, the village of Nimmo was set on fire and 70 Somalis were captured in the village of Gesira. With the reinforcement of 150 Eritrean askaris, who arrived on 12 April 1897 with the ship Volta, Sorrentino destroyed the towns of Gellai, Res, and of Lafoole. Somalis attacked the Italian column, in a battle that lasted several hours, but were defeated. In the engagement, 50 Somalis were killed. On the Italian side, 1 Askari died.
In Robert L. Hess own words;
“The impression made by the punitive expedition after Lafoole could hardly have been called lasting.” Since after this expedition, the Italians primarily retreated to the coast until further campaigns. During the campaign, Italian troops razed all villages east of the Shebelle River while seizing livestock and killing Somali residents in the area.
Italian-Somali wars
The Banadir resistance
During 1896 and 1897, the Somalis had shown signs of revolt with the annihilation of the Cecchi expedition and the assassination of Italian resident Giacomo Trevis. The rebellion led primarily by the powerful pro-slavery clan of the Bimaal following the contrast made by the Colonial Benadir Company against the slave trade, led to the total failure of the "pacification" policy designed in Rome.In the 1890s, Italian-occupied Marka was the centre of the Bimal culture. This sparked the beginning of conflict and a chain of attacks against the Italians by the Bimaal, Wa’daan, Geledi, and various other Somali clans. under the leadership of Sheikh Abdi Gafle and Ma’alin Mursal Abdi Yusuf, two prominent local Islamic teachers in Marka from the Bimal clan. These clans harboring a strong anti-colonist sentiment would represent the core of the initial Somali resistance against Italian colonialism.
In 1905, Italian successes at Bula-Iach, Gilib and Mellet forced a part of the Bimals to submit, but others continued to resist. In February 1907, a large meeting of Bimaal warriors was held in Moialo, near Merca. Italian forces, led by lieutenant Streva, marched against them and set Moialo ablaze. An Italian column, forming a square, was attacked by approximately 2,500 Bimaals. The resulting battle of Danane ended with an Italian victory. Italian officer Presenti was wounded in action. More than 100 Bimaals were killed and even more were wounded. Shekh Abdi Abiker retreated beyond the Shabelle into the territory of the Intera, where he later sent 100 men and 40 camels to the Mullah to obtain more weapons.
Hostilities resumed in 1908. Italians under Captain Vitali won the battles of Dongab, Gilib and Mellet, while Italian ships bombarded various localities, but hundreds of Bimaals blockaded Merca again. The block came to an end with the expedition led by major Di Giorgio, who defeated a Dervish-Bimal coalition in two battles at Mellet and the Wa'daan at Merere, where rebel ships were sunk. Thus, Afgoy was occupied by the Italians. Shortly after, however, Bimaals destroyed the villages of Res and Curare, threatening Afgoy. The troops of Di Giorgio crossed the river and, forming a square, defeated a Bimaal assault in a forest at Hararei. The rebel centre of Balàd was destroyed. The area was pacified with a final campaign by major Rossi, who, once again leading a square formation, defeated 1,000 Dervishes in the battles of Bulàlo and Sengagle. As a result of these campaigns, Italian Somaliland was expanded to include Afgoy, Maregh, Barire, Mellèt, Danane and Balàd. For the first time, the entirety of the low Shabelle region was under Italian control.