Britain ceded 67,000 square miles of the Haud to Ethiopia in 1897

Evidence

The eventual effect, of course, clearly envisaged by Rodd and his government of this unilateral withdrawal or curtailment of protection by Britain, was to place the Somali clansmen concerned in a position in which they would not be able to maintain their independence from Ethiopia. It was merely a matter of time before Ethiopia followed up her spasmodic thrusts and transformed her infiltration among the Somali into a definite occupation. This contingency was clearly provided for in the third annex to the treaty which stipulated that the clans on each side of the new British Protectorate frontier should have access to the grazing areas and ‘nearer wells’ both within and outside the British sphere; during such migratory movements they were to be under the jurisdiction of the appropriate territorial authority. However, Rodd and the other British officials concerned thought that the Ethiopians would be slow to take advantage of what they had in effect already gained; it was considered that in practice things would continue much as they were with the Haud remaining as a sort of buffer zone used by the British clans only temporarily for grazing. The effects of the gradual adoption of agriculture by the western Somali clans were not envisaged, for this process had hardly yet started. A more serious objection which might more reasonably have been anticipated was the effect of the centuries’ old trend of population movement away from the highly eroded north towards the centre and Haud. This gradual drift of population was to bring increasing numbers of British protected Somali into what was now effectively the Ethiopian sphere. — I.M. Lewis, I. M. Lewis, A Modern History of the Somali_ Nation…, 189 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

Having successfully settled the frontier with Italy, Britain now proceeded on the demarcation of her Protectorate’s boundaries with Ethiopia, following the terms of the dubious agreement of 1897. This was the first clear indication which British-protected Somalis were vouchsafed of the partial withdrawal of British protection, and of the abandonment of their territory over which Ethiopia was now anxious to exercise jurisdiction. Consequently, it is scarcely to be wondered at that the joint-Commission encountered opposition from the clansmen in the area, or, that in the course of its work, one of the commissioners lost his life. This, however, was but a minor incident compared with the reception which was in store for the Commission, led by Col Clifford and Dedjazmatch Tessema Bante, when it arrived at Walwal in the eastern Ogaden in November 1934. — I.M. Lewis, I. M. Lewis, A Modern History of the Somali_ Nation…, 296 (#expands, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Britain in 1897 nearly abandoned its Somaliland protectorate; Britain’s 1897 withdrawal of protection exposed Somali clansmen to Ethiopian occupation — I.M. Lewis, I. M. Lewis, A Modern History of the Somali_ Nation…, 189; Frontier demarcation with Ethiopia first revealed Britain’s withdrawal of protection — I.M. Lewis, I. M. Lewis, A Modern History of the Somali_ Nation…, 296 (+1 more)

Related

• Frontier demarcation with Ethiopia first revealed Britain’s withdrawal of protection (similarity 0.94)
• Britain in 1897 nearly abandoned its Somaliland protectorate (similarity 0.92)
• Britain’s 1897 withdrawal of protection exposed Somali clansmen to Ethiopian occupation (similarity 0.89)
• Britain’s 1897 withdrawal knowingly doomed the Somali clans’ independence. (similarity 0.89)
• Britain’s treaty let Ethiopian claims lapse without recognizing its sovereignty. (similarity 0.88)
• British-protected Somali only learned of the 1897 treaty when the 1934 boundary commission arrived (similarity 0.87)
• Britain obtained Ethiopian recognition of the Protectorate while ceding no Somali territory to Ethiopia (similarity 0.87)
• Britain surrendered Haud grazing lands to Ethiopia without consulting Somali subjects (similarity 0.87)
• British miscalculation ignored population drift that pushed protected Somali into Ethiopia’s sphere (similarity 0.86)
• Britain abandoned the Ogaden to Ethiopia despite Somali protests and riots. (similarity 0.84)
• Menelik’s 1891 circular asserted Ethiopian sovereignty over Somali clans (similarity 0.84)
• Somaliland refused to inherit the 1897 treaty ceding the Haud to Ethiopia. (similarity 0.82)
• Britain relinquished the Protectorate almost unconditionally (similarity 0.82)
• Long-run southward Somali migration funnelled protected clans into Ethiopia’s sphere. (similarity 0.82)
• The 1954 Haud transfer to Ethiopia reignited Somali nationalist sentiment (similarity 0.82)

Broader Connections

• Britain obtained Ethiopian recognition of the Protectorate while ceding no Somali territory to Ethiopia #contradicts (0.90)
• Britain’s 1897 withdrawal of protection exposed Somali clansmen to Ethiopian occupation #corroborates (0.80) — I.M. Lewis, I. M. Lewis, A Modern History of the Somali_ Nation…, 189
• Frontier demarcation with Ethiopia first revealed Britain’s withdrawal of protection #expands (0.60) — I.M. Lewis, I. M. Lewis, A Modern History of the Somali_ Nation…, 296