British Somaliland’s gradualist path ended in a hectic independence scramble.

Evidence

While in Somalia the limitation of the period of trusteeship to ten years imparted a strong sense of urgency, in British Somaliland, where no date had been set for independence, and where indeed the matter had scarcely been raised, progress proceeded at a much more leisurely pace. This coincided with the general view prevalent in British circles that development was likely to be all the more effective if conducted at a slow and steady pace. This gradualist approach was, it may be argued, well adapted to the particularly intractable economic and social circumstances of the Protectorate. But as events turned out, the last days of colonial rule in British Somaliland ended in a hectic scramble which might have been partly avoided had the pace been quickened earlier. — I.M. Lewis, I. M. Lewis, A Modern History of the Somali_ Nation…, 393 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

British Somaliland had come a long way towards realizing Somali nationalist aims, despite the tardy beginnings of the early 1950s, and with official British approval for eventual union with Somalia already indicated in 1957 and reiterated more strongly in 1959, the territory seemed now set fair on a course of a few years’ final preparation for independence. Few observers, certainly, anticipated that the Protectorate was to be thrust into independence in a matter of months, thus in the event forestalling Somalia. This view which envisaged a calm and gradual final phase of British tutelage, however, seriously underestimated the great surge of nationalist interest generated by Somalia’s forthcoming independence. Already in 1959, delegates from all the parties and political groups in the Protectorate had participated in the formation at Mogadishu of the National Pan-Somali Movement. In its charter this organization embraced the twin aims of campaigning by peaceful means for the independence and unification of all the Somali territories, and of creating firm ties with other African and Asian states. With these political manœuvres towards unification gathering increasing momentum it was evident, in the wider context of Somali affairs, that the Protectorate’s independence could not long be delayed. — I.M. Lewis, I. M. Lewis, A Modern History of the Somali_ Nation…, 405 (#expands, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: A fixed trusteeship deadline forced Somalia while British Somaliland drifted; Pan-Somali nationalism forced British Somaliland into sudden premature independence; British gradualism produced a chaotic rush at Somaliland independence — I.M. Lewis, I. M. Lewis, A Modern History of the Somali_ Nation…, 393 (+1 more)

Related

• Pan-Somali nationalism forced British Somaliland into sudden premature independence (similarity 0.94)
• British gradualism produced a chaotic rush at Somaliland independence (similarity 0.94)
• A fixed trusteeship deadline forced Somalia while British Somaliland drifted (similarity 0.92)
• Somalia’s impending independence accelerated the Protectorate’s own timetable to independence (similarity 0.91)
• British backing and UN action set July 1960 as Somalia’s independence date (similarity 0.84)
• Somalization of the British Protectorate’s civil service began in 1950 (similarity 0.84)
• Britain’s indecision, not Somali haste, caused the Anglo-Somali rupture (similarity 0.80)
• Somali leaders split over whether union with the Protectorate could be hasty. (similarity 0.80)
• Britain relinquished the Protectorate almost unconditionally (similarity 0.79)
• Public nationalist fervor pushed Somaliland to demand immediate union with Somalia. (similarity 0.78)
• Britain’s administrative handoff preceded a twenty-year Somali rebellion (similarity 0.78)

Broader Connections

• British gradualism produced a chaotic rush at Somaliland independence #corroborates (0.95) — I.M. Lewis, I. M. Lewis, A Modern History of the Somali_ Nation…, 393
• Somalia’s impending independence accelerated the Protectorate’s own timetable to independence #expands (0.80) — I.M. Lewis, I. M. Lewis, A Modern History of the Somali_ Nation…, 405