Long-run southward Somali migration funnelled protected clans into Ethiopia’s sphere.

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 (#expands, via linked claim)

But the first major impetus to Somali migration which tradition records is the arrival from Arabia of Sheikh Isma ‘il Jabarti about the tenth or eleventh century and the expansion of his descendants, the Darod clans, from their early seat in the north-east corner of Somaliland. … While present evidence, or to be more precise, its lack, suggests that much of the very detailed tradition which surrounds these two patriarchs is legend, it appears likely that it should be interpreted as reflecting the growth and expansion of the Darod and Isaq clans about this time. For while Darod and Isaq themselves may be legendary figures, there is no doubt about the authenticity of the movements of their descendants. — I.M. Lewis, I. M. Lewis, A Modern History of the Somali_ Nation…, 91 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Britain’s 1897 withdrawal knowingly doomed the Somali clans’ independence.; Somali clan expansion reflects real migrations though founding patriarchs are legendary — I.M. Lewis, I. M. Lewis, A Modern History of the Somali_ Nation…, 91; Siyad’s survivalist rule reinforced clan segmentation to Ethiopia’s advantage — I.M. Lewis, I. M. Lewis, A Modern History of the Somali_ Nation…, 611 (+10 more)

Related

• Britain’s 1897 withdrawal knowingly doomed the Somali clans’ independence. (similarity 0.89)
• Britain’s 1897 withdrawal of protection exposed Somali clansmen to Ethiopian occupation (similarity 0.89)
• British miscalculation ignored population drift that pushed protected Somali into Ethiopia’s sphere (similarity 0.88)
• Menelik’s 1891 circular asserted Ethiopian sovereignty over Somali clans (similarity 0.88)
• Somali expansion proceeded as disjointed clan migrations, not a unified campaign. (similarity 0.85)
• British-protected Somali only learned of the 1897 treaty when the 1934 boundary commission arrived (similarity 0.84)
• Britain in 1897 nearly abandoned its Somaliland protectorate (similarity 0.83)
• The Somali southward dispersal is among Northeast Africa’s most sustained population movements (similarity 0.83)
• Colonial partition split Somali clans across borders and fuelled turbulence (similarity 0.83)
• Somali migrations shaped clan identity through cultural borrowing from Oromo and Bantu (similarity 0.82)
• Population pressure, drought, and Islamic fervor drove Somali southern migration (similarity 0.82)
• The 1908 Italo-Ethiopian treaty partitioned Somali clans arbitrarily (similarity 0.82)
• Somali clan maneuvering between rival empires weakened the Somali position (similarity 0.82)
• Britain ceded 67,000 square miles of the Haud to Ethiopia in 1897 (similarity 0.82)
• Somali migrants accepted Oromo protection only until strong enough to overthrow them (similarity 0.82)

Broader Connections

• Britain’s 1897 withdrawal of protection exposed Somali clansmen to Ethiopian occupation #expands (0.65) — I.M. Lewis, I. M. Lewis, A Modern History of the Somali_ Nation…, 189
• Somali clan expansion reflects real migrations though founding patriarchs are legendary #corroborates (0.60) — I.M. Lewis, I. M. Lewis, A Modern History of the Somali_ Nation…, 91
• British-protected Somali only learned of the 1897 treaty when the 1934 boundary commission arrived #expands (0.60)
• Somali southern migration followed the Shebelle valley and the Indian Ocean coastline #expands (0.55) — I.M. Lewis, I. M. Lewis, A Modern History of the Somali_ Nation…, 93
• Population pressure, drought, and Islamic fervor drove Somali southern migration #qualifies (0.50) — I.M. Lewis, I. M. Lewis, A Modern History of the Somali_ Nation…, 92
• Somali expansion proceeded as disjointed clan migrations, not a unified campaign. #expands (0.50)
• British miscalculation ignored population drift that pushed protected Somali into Ethiopia’s sphere #complicates (0.50)
• Somali clan fragmentation made clans easy prey for Italian and Ethiopian rivalry #expands (0.45) — I.M. Lewis, I. M. Lewis, A Modern History of the Somali_ Nation…, 301
• Siyad’s survivalist rule reinforced clan segmentation to Ethiopia’s advantage #qualifies (0.40) — I.M. Lewis, I. M. Lewis, A Modern History of the Somali_ Nation…, 611
• Siyad’s survivalism reinforced Somali segmentary politics to Ethiopia’s advantage #qualifies (0.40)