Britain in 1897 nearly abandoned its Somaliland protectorate

Evidence

Although the wider aims of the Mission were to reassure Menelik as to Britain’s interests in the context of Anglo-French rivalry on the Nile, and to secure at least Ethiopian neutrality in the war against the Khalifa in the Sudan, the settlement of the British Protectorate’s frontiers was described as one of the principal objects of the negotiations. However, the actual terms in which the Protectorate’s frontiers were to be defined and the concessions which might have to be made were of relatively minor importance if Rodd could succeed in establishing friendly relations with Ethiopia. Britain was not prepared to defend the 1894 frontiers if this would entail any considerable expenditure: indeed the possibility of abandoning the Somaliland Protectorate altogether had already been raised. The Aden authorities, however, had insisted that this drastic course was impossible, and so the problem remained of retaining the Protectorate in a form sufficient to satisfy Aden’s requirements in meat imports but within boundaries acceptable to Menelik. — I.M. Lewis, I. M. Lewis, A Modern History of the Somali_ Nation…, 183 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

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 (#expands, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Britain’s 1897 withdrawal knowingly doomed the Somali clans’ independence.; Nominal Abyssinian pressure made Britain deem its Somali territory overextended.; Britain nearly abandoned its Somaliland Protectorate over cost concerns. — I.M. Lewis, I. M. Lewis, A Modern History of the Somali_ Nation…, 183 (+13 more)

Related

• Britain nearly abandoned its Somaliland Protectorate over cost concerns. (similarity 0.93)
• Britain ceded 67,000 square miles of the Haud to Ethiopia in 1897 (similarity 0.92)
• Britain’s 1897 withdrawal knowingly doomed the Somali clans’ independence. (similarity 0.92)
• British miscalculation ignored population drift that pushed protected Somali into Ethiopia’s sphere (similarity 0.90)
• Frontier demarcation with Ethiopia first revealed Britain’s withdrawal of protection (similarity 0.90)
• Britain relinquished the Protectorate almost unconditionally (similarity 0.89)
• Britain’s 1897 withdrawal of protection exposed Somali clansmen to Ethiopian occupation (similarity 0.89)
• Britain’s Somaliland involvement was purely a meat-provisioning auxiliary to Aden’s garrison (similarity 0.88)
• Britain obtained Ethiopian recognition of the Protectorate while ceding no Somali territory to Ethiopia (similarity 0.87)
• Britain valued the Somaliland Protectorate mainly for Aden’s meat supply (similarity 0.86)
• Britain’s treaty let Ethiopian claims lapse without recognizing its sovereignty. (similarity 0.86)
• Menelik’s 1891 circular asserted Ethiopian sovereignty over Somali clans (similarity 0.86)
• Britain’s Somali interest was solely the meat supply for Aden (similarity 0.86)
• Nominal Abyssinian pressure made Britain deem its Somali territory overextended. (similarity 0.85)
• Britain surrendered Haud grazing lands to Ethiopia without consulting Somali subjects (similarity 0.85)

Broader Connections

• Britain nearly abandoned its Somaliland Protectorate over cost concerns. #corroborates (0.90) — I.M. Lewis, I. M. Lewis, A Modern History of the Somali_ Nation…, 183
• Britain’s 1897 withdrawal of protection exposed Somali clansmen to Ethiopian occupation #expands (0.70) — I.M. Lewis, I. M. Lewis, A Modern History of the Somali_ Nation…, 189
• Britain obtained Ethiopian recognition of the Protectorate while ceding no Somali territory to Ethiopia #contradicts (0.60)
• Britain’s Somaliland commitments ballooned far beyond its minimal original aims #complicates (0.50) — I.M. Lewis, I. M. Lewis, A Modern History of the Somali_ Nation…, 249
• Nominal Abyssinian incursions led Britain to trim its Somali territory. #qualifies (0.50) — I.M. Lewis, I. M. Lewis, A Modern History of the Somali_ Nation…, 750
• Britain ceded 67,000 square miles of the Haud to Ethiopia in 1897 #expands (0.40)
• British miscalculation ignored population drift that pushed protected Somali into Ethiopia’s sphere #expands (0.40)
• British imperial strategy traded Somali protectorate treaties for trade access to Aden #expands (0.30) — I.M. Lewis, I. M. Lewis, A Modern History of the Somali_ Nation…, 190