History Term Paper on Somalia

The People who are living in present day Somalia have a remarkable history. The Arabs called them Berberi, and according to archaeological evidence they had occupied the area known as the ‘Horn of Africa’ by 100 A.D. and possibly earlier. Their first contact with religion Islam occurred when groups of persecuted Muslims from Arabia came here to seek refuge in the region at the time of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) in the eighth century.

Expansion into the peninsula as far as the Indian Ocean and Red Sea put the Somalis in constant contact with the Arab and Persian immigrants who had maintained a series of settlements along the coast. Between eighth to the tenth centuries, Persian and Arab traders were engaged in profitable commerce from enclaves along the Red Sea and Indian Ocean. The most significant enclave was the famous medieval emporium of Saylac on the Gulf of Aden. Saylac became the principal outlet for trade in coffee, ostrich feathers, gold, civet, and Ethiopian slaves bound for the China, Middle East, and India, in sixteenth century. Saylac emerged as the heart of Muslim culture and learning, famous for its mosques and school. Eventually it became the capital of the medieval state of Adal. Between 1560 and 1660, Ethiopian expeditions constantly harried Saylac, which sank into decay. Berbera replaced Saylac as the northern center of Islamic power in the Horn of Africa (Ali, 1995).

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In addition to southward migration, a second important thing in the Somali history from the fifteenth century onward was the introduction of centralized system. For many years before the fifteenth century, goodwill had existed between the new civilization of the Christian of Ethiopia and Islam. One tradition holds that Muhammad (PBUH) blessed Ethiopia and enjoined his disciples from ever declaring jihad (holy war) against the Christian kingdom in gratitude for the safety early Muslims had received from the Ethiopian. But Muslim armies constantly overran the powerful empires of Byzantium and Persia soon after the birth of Islam, but there was not a single jihad against Christian Ethiopia for many centuries (Ali, 1995).
Muslim and Christian relations soured during the control of the violent Negus Yeshaq (ruled 1414-29). He declared Muslims as "enemies of the Lord". Yeshaq attacked the Muslim Kingdom of Ifat in 1415. He also defeated the armies of Ifat. Yeshaq bound the Muslims to offer tribute, and he also ordered his singers to write a gloating song of thanksgiving for his great victory. In the lyrics, the word ‘Somali’ appeared for the first time in written record history.

In the fifteenth century, the ports of Berbera and Saylac were integrated into the international Arab economy, with weapons, slaves, hides, gums, skins, ostrich feathers, and ivory being traded. On the Banaadir coast, a lively trade with China, Arabia and India existed as early as the fourteenth century.

The local people used to raise cattle, sheep, and goats, but the camels were central role as a sign of wealth and success. Camels can survive in an atmosphere where water and grazing areas are scarce and widely scattered. Camels were also being used for meat, milk, and transportation for Somali pastoralists, and serve as their medium of exchange (The Columbia Encyclopedia, 2001).

In the sixteenth century, the Muslims had recovered adequately to break through from the east into the central Ethiopian highlands. In the leadership of Imam Ahmad Guray (ruled 1506-43), the Muslims poured into Ethiopia, and decimated the population of the country. In the sixteenth century, the locus of intercommunication moved upland to the well-watered region between the Shabeelle and Jubba rivers. Proofs of the shift of initiative from the coast to the interior can be found in the rise between 1550 and 1650 of the Ujuuraan state.

During 1728 the last Portuguese foothold on the East African coast was dislodged from the great Mombassa castle of Fort Jesus. From then until the European scramble for the African colonies in the 1880s, the Omanis exercised an unclear authority over the Banaadir coast. Omani ruled over the Somalis consisted for almost all part of a token annual tribute payment and the presence of a resident Qadi (Judge) and a handful of Askaris (Local police).

Cultural activities of Somalia were poetry, folk dancing, the stage performance of plays, and singing. These traditional activities still retain their significance, especially in rural areas, and are practiced at religious, family and state ceremonies (M Diriye, 2001).

Somalia's modern history began in the late nineteenth century, when many European powers started to trade and establish themselves in the Somalia. The British East India Company's desire for unlimited harbor facilities led to the conclusion of treaties with the sultan of Tajura in 1840. It was not until 1886, however, that the British achieved total control over northern Somalia through many treaties with various Somali chiefs. British objectives centered on safeguarding trade links to the east and securing sources of provisions and food. The boundary between British Somaliland and Ethiopia was established in 1897 through treaty negotiations between the King Menelik and British negotiators.

Italian occupation slowly extended inland. In 1924, the Jubaland Province of Kenya, including the port and town of Kismayo, was given to Italy by the United Kingdom. The subjugation and occupation of the sultanates of Obbia and Mijertein, begun in 1925, were completed in 1927. During 1920s, Somali and Italian power expanded into the Ogaden region of eastern Ethiopia. Incursions climaxed in 1935 when Italian forces launched an offensive attack that led to the capture of Addis Ababa.

Following Italy's declaration of war in June 1940, Italian troops captured British Somaliland and drove out the British garrison. In 1941, British armed forces started operations against the Italian East African Empire and brought the major part of the Italian Somaliland under British power. From 1941 to 1950, while Somalia was under British administration, transition toward self-government was begun with the help of the establishment of planning committees, local courts, and the Protectorate Advisory Council. During 1948 Britain turned the Ogaden and adjacent Somali territories over to Ethiopia.

At the start of World War II, Italian holdings in East Africa included Ethiopia, southern Somalia, and Eritrea. Italy subsequently captured northern Somalia and ejected the British from the Horn of Africa. Victory of the Italy turned out to be short lived, however. In March 1941, the British forces counterattacked and they again occupied northern Somalia, from which they started their lightning operation to retake the whole region from the Italian forces and restore Emperor Haile Selassie to his throne. The British forces then placed southern Somalia and the Ogaden under a military control (Somalia History, Oct 2001)

Before the civil war in the early 1990s, manufacturing in Somalia was in the starting stages of development. A cement factory, meat, a cotton gin, a fish cannery, and a textile mills were established. Other major industries included oilseed and fruit processing plants, petroleum and sugar refineries, and leather factories. Most industry went out of business in the early 1990s because of civil disorder. Before the war, Somalia’s major exports were bananas and livestock. Major imports were chemicals, foodstuffs, textiles, machinery, and petroleum.