The Dervish holy war backfired by entrenching alien rule deeper

Evidence

By contrast, as has been seen, the extension of British rule to cover a large area of the hinterland of the Somaliland Protectorate was the result rather than the cause of the Dervish war. The Sayyid’s campaigns had also engendered a tradition of Anglo-Ethiopian collaboration against Somali and had drawn the slender arm of Ethiopian rule farther into the Ogaden, thus considerably strengthening Ethiopia’s position in relation to Somali. No doubt this would have happened eventually without British support and prompting, but its occurrence at this time, and in these circumstances, was one of the paradoxical consequences of the Dervish fight for freedom. Hence, although Sayyid Muhammad’s image was at the time of his death, and still remains, that of a national hero and patriot, his holy war – despite all the courage and tenacity of his supporters – not only failed in its purpose of driving the ‘infidels’ into the sea, but actually led to a further extension and entrenchment of alien rule. — I.M. Lewis, I. M. Lewis, A Modern History of the Somali_ Nation…, 259

Categorization

• XREF: This is the payoff for the whole Dervish war narrative established in earlier chapters — the irony that the anti-colonial ‘freedom fight’ strengthened colonial control. — connects to: The Dervish holy war strengthened alien rule rather than ending it; Britain’s Somaliland empire grew as an unintended consequence of the Dervish war; The Dervish war left British Somaliland undeveloped and bitterly mistrustful (+2 more)

Related

• The Dervish holy war strengthened alien rule rather than ending it (similarity 0.97)
• The Dervish war did not deflect Italian colonial plans or aims (similarity 0.90)
• Britain’s Somaliland empire grew as an unintended consequence of the Dervish war (similarity 0.90)
• The Dervish war left British Somaliland undeveloped and bitterly mistrustful (similarity 0.89)
• The Dervish war failed to alter Italian colonial ambitions in Somalia (similarity 0.88)
• Warsangeli defection to the Dervishes signaled renewed warfare (similarity 0.83)
• France tacitly tolerated arms reaching the Dervishes to weaken Britain (similarity 0.78)

Broader Connections

• The Dervish war did not deflect Italian colonial plans or aims #responds-to (0.75) — I.M. Lewis, I. M. Lewis, A Modern History of the Somali_ Nation…, 258