Colonial partition split Somali clans across borders and fuelled turbulence

Evidence

From the end of the Dervish period until after the East Africa campaign during the Second World War, this remained the general character of life in the Protectorate. Yet, although the rudiments of law and order were now effectively established, there was during this period considerable turbulence in the west, particularly amongst the Gadabursi and ‘Ise clans. This created serious administrative difficulties which were aggravated by the effects of the arbitrary colonial partition which divided these clans between Britain and Ethiopia and, in the case of the ‘Ise, France also. Rival claimants for the leadership of the Gadabursi clan and their adherents sought to play off to their own advantage the Ethiopian authorities at Jigjiga and the British at Borama. In 1930, this dangerous game led to an unfortunate incident when, guided by the pro-Ethiopian Gadabursi claimant, an Ethiopian force crossed into the Protectorate and seized livestock. An encounter with the Borama authorities quickly followed in which shots were exchanged and four Ethiopians were killed. — I.M. Lewis, I. M. Lewis, A Modern History of the Somali_ Nation…, 294

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Britain’s 1897 withdrawal knowingly doomed the Somali clans’ independence.; The Somali clan system made Ogaden clans prey to Italian and Ethiopian competition; The partition of Somaliland’s territories permanently foreclosed a unified path to independence (+12 more)

Related

• The 1908 Italo-Ethiopian treaty partitioned Somali clans arbitrarily (similarity 0.93)
• Britain’s hurried partition border cut through communities and homes (similarity 0.92)
• The partition of Somaliland’s territories permanently foreclosed a unified path to independence (similarity 0.92)
• The nineteenth-century partition entrenched barriers that doomed future Somali unity. (similarity 0.92)
• The Somali clan system made Ogaden clans prey to Italian and Ethiopian competition (similarity 0.86)
• Somali clan maneuvering between rival empires weakened the Somali position (similarity 0.86)
• Colonial partition entrenched fragmentation that would later generate friction (similarity 0.86)
• Somali clan fragmentation made clans easy prey for Italian and Ethiopian rivalry (similarity 0.85)
• Somali lands were divided among Britain, France, Italy, and Ethiopia into five domains (similarity 0.85)
• Britain’s 1897 withdrawal of protection exposed Somali clansmen to Ethiopian occupation (similarity 0.85)
• Britain’s 1897 withdrawal knowingly doomed the Somali clans’ independence. (similarity 0.85)
• Nineteenth-century partition entrenched fragmentation of the Somali nation (similarity 0.84)
• Menelik’s 1891 circular asserted Ethiopian sovereignty over Somali clans (similarity 0.84)
• Clan segmentation had blocked Somali national unity since the sixteenth century. (similarity 0.84)
• Five colonial powers divided the Somali-inhabited territories (similarity 0.83)

Broader Connections

• Nineteenth-century partition entrenched fragmentation of the Somali nation #corroborates (0.90) — I.M. Lewis, I. M. Lewis, A Modern History of the Somali_ Nation…, 374
• Somali clan fragmentation made clans easy prey for Italian and Ethiopian rivalry #qualifies (0.60) — I.M. Lewis, I. M. Lewis, A Modern History of the Somali_ Nation…, 301
• Somali irredentism threatened the sanctity of colonial African frontiers #expands (0.50) — I.M. Lewis, I. M. Lewis, A Modern History of the Somali_ Nation…, 490