This article is about the specific polity British Somaliland and therefore only includes events related to its territory and not to its possessions or colonies. If you are interested in the possession, this is the link to the article about the nation which includes all possessions as well as all the different incarnations of the nation.
If you are looking for the page with the statistics about this polity you can find it here:All Statistics
Was a British protectorate in present-day Somaliland.
Establishment
January 1828: In 1827, British explorer Captain William Grant Francis and Sultan of Raheita, Moussa Reyyan, signed a protection treaty in the northern coast of present-day Djibouti. This marked the beginning of British influence in the region, eventually leading to the establishment of British Somaliland.
Chronology
Interactive Chronologies with maps are available in the section Changes Navigation
Was a conflict between Aussa, Oromo, and Somali tribesmen, and the Khedivate of Egypt from 1874 to 1885. In 1874, the Egyptians invaded Eastern Ethiopia and ruled it for 11 years.
January 1874: In August 1873, Egyptian garrisons, under the rule of Khedive Isma'il Pasha of the Ottoman Empire, occupied Berbera. This move was part of Egypt's efforts to expand its influence in the region and control key strategic ports along the Red Sea coast.
Expansion during the rule of Menelik II in the Ethiopian Empire.
January 1899: Ethiopia's expansion under Menlik II until 1898.
Was a global conflict between two coalitions, the Allies (primarily France, the United Kingdom, Russia, Italy, Japan, and the United States) and the Central Powers (led by Germany, Austria-Hungary, and the Ottoman Empire). It was mainly caused by the competition of the western countries over domain in Europe and in the rest of the world with their colonial empires. The war ended with the defeat of the Central Powers. The war also caused the Russian Revolution and the ensuing Russian Civil War.
3.1.World War I African Theatre
Was the African Theatre of World War I.
3.1.1.Somaliland campaign
Was a long guerrilla conflict which took place between 1900 and 1920 in the territories corresponding to present-day Somalia and in the border areas between Somalia and present-day Ethiopia. The Somali Islamist leader Mohammed Abdullah Hassan succeeded in uniting various clans and tribes in his country in a unitary movement of opposition to Italian and British colonial rule.
July 1903: The Dervishes bypassed the British line of resistance, and settled in the upper Nogal valley, conquering a region between British Somaliland and the Italian protectorate of Migiurtinia and equipped with an outlet to the sea at the small port of Illig.
January 1904: British forces led by General Egerton invaded the Nogal valley and engaged the main Dervish army near the village of Gid Ali in combat on 10 January 1904, inflicting a crushing defeat.
March 1905: On 5 March 1905, Dervish leader Abdullah Hassan signed a truce with the British and Ethiopians in Illig, promising to stop his attacks in exchange for the cession of the territory of Nogal.
October 1908: The Dervishes resumed the conflict. A column invaded the Sultanate of Obbia and attacked the Mudugh region.
February 1913: After various raids, in June 1912 the Dervish Mullah moved further south and created an independent Somali national state. The core of his territory was protected by a chain of forts to the west, and went from Mount Shimbiris on the coast to the village of Gid Ali in the interior.
August 1913: On 9 August 1913 a Dervish column engaged the only remaining British mobile force in the Somaliland Colony, Colonel Richard Corfield's Camel Constabluray, near Dul Madoba hill, destroying it.
September 1913: 60 mounted dervishes entered western Somaliland and sacked the town of Burrao.
October 1913: 60 mounted dervishes entered western Somaliland and sacked the town of Burrao.
March 1915: In February 1915, an offensive by the reconstituted British Somaliland Camel Corps led to the capture of the Dervish fortifications set up on Mount Shimbiris and other minor positions, forcing the Mullah to withdraw his western line of resistance near his stronghold of Taleh.
March 1915: The forces of Migiurtinia reoccupied the Nogal valley and then encroached on Somaliland as well.
February 1920: The Dervish Mullah managed to fall back with a core of warriors on Taleh. A land assault was launched on 9 February.
December 1920: On December 21, 1920 (the precise date is not clear) Abdullah Hassan, who was the leader of the Dervish movement, died after six days of illness (also unspecified, malaria or pneumonia). The Mullah's death effectively ended the Dervish Revolt.
Was a global conflict that lasted from 1939 to 1945 (it started sooner in certain regions) between the Axis Powers (mainly Germany, Japan and Italy) and the Allies (mainly the Soviet Union, the U.S.A., the U.K., China and France). It was the war with more fatalities in history. The war in Asia began when Japan invaded China on July 7, 1937. The war in Europe began when Germany invaded Poland on September 1, 1939. The war ended with the complete defeat of the Axis powers, which were occupied by the Allies.
4.1.World War II (East African Theatre)
Was the East African theatre of World War II.
4.1.1.Italian conquest of British Somaliland
Was the Italian conquest of British Somaliland during World War II.
August 1940: The Italian invasion force occupied Hargeisa.
August 1940: The Italian eastern column, comprising mainly Eritrean Bande (colonial troops), reached Odweina.
August 1940: By 10 August, de Simone had closed up on the British positions behind the Tug Argan and prepared the Italian attack.
August 1940: The Italian northern column reached Zeila despite naval bombardments.
August 1940: The British retirement was followed up cautiously by the Italians, who attacked the defenders at Barkasan.
August 1940: In the north, the Bertoldi column captured Zeila, about 240 km north-west of Berbera, cutting communications with French Somaliland and then began a slow advance south-east along the coast road, under intermittent air attack from Aden and bombardment from the sea, pushing back the SCC rearguards as far as the village of Bulhar by 17 August.
August 1940: Italian forces entered Berbera victorious on 19 August 1940, just over 2 weeks after the start of the offensive in British Somaliland.
4.1.2.British invasion of Italian East Africa
Was the British invasion and occupation of Italian East Africa during World War II.
March 1941: The town of Barbera was captured by the British.
March 1941: On 20 March, Hargeisa was captured by the British.
March 1941: British forces advanced westwards into eastern Ethiopia and in late March, linked with forces from the Southern Front around Harar and Diredawa.
January 1840: Since 1839 British emissaries stationed in the port cities of Zeila and Berbera.
January 1841: Zeila was more or less subject to Ottoman Turkey throughout the 19th century. She appoints "pasha", farmers responsible for taxes, like Ali Shermake or Abu Bekr in the 1840s.
January 1843: In 1842, Rochet d'Héricourt, a French naval officer, acquired the town of Tadjoura from the King of Shewa in the Gulf of Tadjoura. This acquisition marked the beginning of French influence in the region, eventually leading to the establishment of French Somaliland.
January 1858: The sultanate of Obock is sold to the French (1857) .
January 1885: In 1884, the UK established the protectorate of British Somalia through treaties with the Sultanate of Isaaq in the Sultanate of Isaaq. This marked the beginning of British colonial rule in the region, with the Sultanate of Isaaq becoming part of British Somaliland.
January 1885: In 1884, the UK established the protectorate of British Somalia through various treaties with the sultanates of Northern Somalia including Dir, Isaaq, Harti and Warsangali.
July 1887: In 1887, after signing successive treaties with the then ruling Somali Sultans from the Isaaq, Issa, Gadabursi, and Warsangali clans, the British established a protectorate in the region referred to as British Somaliland.
May 1896: On May 20, 1896, a decree of the President of the French Republic declared the annexation of the "territory of Obock as well as the protectorates of Tadjourah and the Danakil countries".
January 1908: The Habr Yunis Sultanate was brought under British administration.
June 1960: The State of Somaliland was a short-lived independent country in the territory of present-day de facto independent Republic of Somaliland. It was the name assumed by the former British Somaliland protectorate in the five days between June 26, 1960.
Disestablishment
June 1960: The State of Somaliland was a short-lived independent country in the territory of present-day de facto independent Republic of Somaliland. It was the name assumed by the former British Somaliland protectorate in the five days between June 26, 1960.
Selected Sources
Playfair, I. S. O. et al. (1959): The Mediterranean and Middle East: The Early Successes Against Italy (to May 1941). History of the Second World War, United Kingdom Military Series. Vol. I (4th impr. ed.), London (UK), pp. 418-420
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British Somaliland
