20th Century Somalia

20th Century Somalia

Somalia is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is bordered by Ethiopia to the west, Djibouti to the northwest, Kenya to the southwest, the Gulf of Aden to the north, and the Indian Ocean to the east. With the longest coastline on the continent, its terrain consists mainly of plateaus, plains, and highlands. It is made up of the former British Protectorate of Somaliland and Italy’s former Trust Territory of Somalia. Somalia’s modern history began in the late 1800’s, when European powers began to trade and settle in the Somalia area. These events and the events that occurred during the 20th century helped shape the modern Somalia government and culture today.

In 1886, the British gained control over northern Somalia through treaties by guaranteeing British protection to Somali chiefs who agreed to them. The British were concerned with securing their trade interests with its coaling station in Aden. The British established what was known as British Somaliland and a boundary was made with Ethiopia through treaty negotiations in 1897. The British occupied this area with very little resistance in the late 19th century, but that started to change towards the turn of the century.

The European powers that began to settle in Northern Africa, inspired the current leader of the Dervish State, Mohammed Abdullah to rally support from various nations across the Horn of Africa and began one of the longest colonial resistance wars ever. He challenged the British rule through persistent attacks and became known as the “Mad Mullah” by the British. His first major military offensive attack was with 1500 Dervish equipped with 20 modern rifles on British soldiers stationed in the region. This resistance fro...

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... Hawk helicopters and killed 18 American soldiers. The public outcry in the US from these actions caused President Clinton to order all American soldiers to withdraw from Somalia by March 31, 1994. Other nations quickly followed suit of the Americans. The failed mission cost nearly $2 billion by its end. Although a new parliament was convened in 2004, rival factions in various regions of Somalia still struggle for control of the nation.

Works Cited.

U.S Marines storm Mogadishu, Somalia. (2012). The History Channel website. Retrieved April 27, 2012, from http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/us-marines-storm-mogadishu-somalia.

History of Somalia. (n.d.). In Wikipedia. Retrieved April 28, 2012, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Somalia

Somalia. (n.d.). In Conservapedia. Retrieved April 27, 2012, from http://conservapedia.com/Somalia