How Did The British Imperialism Affect Somalia

Somalia was just one of the many African countries taken control of through imperialism. Great Britain was the first to take over, soon followed by Italy. For years, Somalia faced challenges of no formal government, malnutrition, and poor sanitation. The European imperial powers saw the desperate need that Somalia was in, and attempted to help cure their informality. But, like all other imperial powers, they take more than they give and don’t always benefit the less fortunate country.

Before imperialism, Somalia had absolutely no centralized government. With a predominantly Arab and Persian population, the most commonly practiced religion was Islam. With this type of society and no government unity, Sultans took over different areas of Somalia

The British beat the Italians to Somalia, and quickly claimed Northern Somalia and named it “British Somaliland.” The British claimed this area because they wanted to keep the route to India open with the Suez Canal because of India’s abundance of coal, iron, and natural gas for trading. However, they did not do much to improve Somalia during their rule. Not paying any attention to Somalia’s issues of famine, sexual violence, and abuse of powers, the British imperialism in Somalia is thought of as a time of neglect, a time that the Somalian population needed help the most. The British robbed Somalia of many resources but gave nothing in return. The Italians also saw Southern Somalia’s weakness, and proceeded to claim it as their own, naming it “Italian Somaliland.” However, the Italian imperialism of Somalia differed greatly from that of Britain. Italy took advantage of Somalia’s land for resources they craved such as citrus fruit, sugar, bananas, and livestock. Italy also imposed strict laws on Somali citizens regarding crime, food, and others that helped civilize and modernize Somalia and its citizens. However, Italian and British powers did not stay

The first step took for independence was to drive out the British. Sayyid Hassan, the nationalist and strongly religious leader of Somalia, led an enormous rebellion against the British. This rebellion led to the British retreating, which sounds like a strong victory, but unsuccessful overall. After the British retreated, the Italians took over all of the areas that the British had dominated. The Italians ruled tirelessly and halted any Somalian advance to end their order. However, after World War 1 ended, Italy was stipulated to sign a treaty that abandoned ownership of Somalia and leave the land entirely, and just become a protectorate of Somalia. Somalia was under Italian rule for over twenty years. Because it was clear that Somalia was still unfit to self-govern, the United Nations took over in order to provide humanitarian relief for citizens and to prepare Somalia for independence. For 10 years it was under control of the United Nations, until 1960 when Somalia gained independence, creating the Somali Republic. Even though Somalia craved independence, many of the advancements that were made during the time of imperialism left when the imperial powers