Menelik’s 1891 circular asserted Ethiopian sovereignty over Somali clans

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)

And far from gaining a rational national basis for preparation for self-rule, the divisive effects of the nineteenth-century partition of Somaliland, particularly in respect of Ethiopia’s portion, had now become more firmly entrenched than before. This inevitably strengthened the barriers opposing Somali nationalist endeavour and consolidated the colonial legacy of fragmentation which could only lead to frustration and friction in the future. — I.M. Lewis, I. M. Lewis, A Modern History of the Somali_ Nation…, 374 (#expands, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: 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; The 1908 Italo-Ethiopian treaty partitioned Somali clans arbitrarily; Nineteenth-century partition entrenched fragmentation of the Somali nation — I.M. Lewis, I. M. Lewis, A Modern History of the Somali_ Nation…, 374 (+4 more)

Related

• Britain’s 1897 withdrawal of protection exposed Somali clansmen to Ethiopian occupation (similarity 0.91)
• Britain’s 1897 withdrawal knowingly doomed the Somali clans’ independence. (similarity 0.90)
• The 1908 Italo-Ethiopian treaty partitioned Somali clans arbitrarily (similarity 0.89)
• Long-run southward Somali migration funnelled protected clans into Ethiopia’s sphere. (similarity 0.88)
• British miscalculation ignored population drift that pushed protected Somali into Ethiopia’s sphere (similarity 0.87)
• Britain in 1897 nearly abandoned its Somaliland protectorate (similarity 0.86)
• Somali clan maneuvering between rival empires weakened the Somali position (similarity 0.85)
• British-protected Somali only learned of the 1897 treaty when the 1934 boundary commission arrived (similarity 0.85)
• The partition of Somaliland’s territories permanently foreclosed a unified path to independence (similarity 0.85)
• The nineteenth-century partition entrenched barriers that doomed future Somali unity. (similarity 0.84)
• Colonial partition split Somali clans across borders and fuelled turbulence (similarity 0.84)
• Britain ceded 67,000 square miles of the Haud to Ethiopia in 1897 (similarity 0.84)
• British protectorate treaties covered specific northern Somali clans but not the Dulbahante. (similarity 0.82)
• Nineteenth-century partition entrenched fragmentation of the Somali nation (similarity 0.82)
• Britain’s treaty let Ethiopian claims lapse without recognizing its sovereignty. (similarity 0.82)

Broader Connections

• 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
• The 1908 Italo-Ethiopian treaty partitioned Somali clans arbitrarily #expands (0.60)
• Nineteenth-century partition entrenched fragmentation of the Somali nation #expands (0.60) — 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 #expands (0.55) — I.M. Lewis, I. M. Lewis, A Modern History of the Somali_ Nation…, 301
• Somali clan maneuvering between rival empires weakened the Somali position #expands (0.50)
• Somalis’ clan disunity prevented unified opposition to foreign rule #expands (0.50)
• Haile Selassie’s claim over Somalis accelerated Protectorate demands for autonomy #expands (0.45) — I.M. Lewis, I. M. Lewis, A Modern History of the Somali_ Nation…, 400