Somalia 1900s

The Somali coast started populating in the 2nd century AD. Coastal settlements such as Malao, Mundus, Mosylon, Tave, Oponi, Sarapion etc., existed when eastern Africa had the flourishing kingdom of Axum (150 BC-960 AD) in today's Ethiopia, Eritrea and Yemen. The medieval Islamic kingdom of Adel was the first royal entity to exist on the coast of Somalia and Djibouti, which existed since the 12th century and flourished nearly three centuries later. The rise of the Muqdisho (Mogadishu) Sultanate under the Omani and, later, Zanzibari suzerainty existed throughout the medieval era till the 16th century. 

This was followed by the majestic Ajuran Sultanate that spread to the southern portion of Somalia in the 13th century, followed by Ifat (covering parts of Ethiopia) and Warsangli in the 14th century. The rising Ethiopian Empire slowly engulfed Ifat, and a conquest war over Ethiopia and Somalia swung between Adal, Ifat and Ethiopian Empires, all till the arrival of the Europeans in Africa. 

Although majorly rising in Asia and Europe, the Ottoman Empire saw its presence on the coasts of Eritrea, Djibouti and Somalia in the 16th century. The Imamate of Aussa (spread across Djibouti, Ethiopia and Somalia) and the ruling clan of Mudaitos rose during this period that would later find their place among European colonisation in the coming centuries. As the centuries passed, two major Somali clans ascended powers in the 19th century - the Majeerteen in the northeast and the Geledi in the south. In the 19th century, a portion of northern Somalia was also acquired by the Khedive of Egypt between 1874 to 1884. The internal turmoils in the Somali territory led to its abandonment and takeover by the United Kingdom as British Somaliland in 1887. In 1890, the Hoboyo Sultanate became a protectorate to a new member of colonial power - Italy. 

The French, the most powerful European power in northern Africa, found its colony in Djibouti and along the Dervish polities in Somalia and Ethiopia and the Imamate of Aussa. Soon as the 1900s proceeded, the Italians became a giant superpower with the establishment of the Italian East Africa that stretched from Eritrea to Somalia. At the same time, the British Somaliland took shape in the northern region. French Somaliland was what today is Djibouti. After the Italian defeat in the Second World War, Italian East Africa was divided into a new Ethiopian Empire and four parts - British Occupied Eritrea, Djibouti, British Ogaden (eastern Ethiopia) and British Military Administration in Somalia. The Trust Territory of Somaliland under the United Nations existed between 1950 to 1960 and was again administrated under Italy when it finally gained independence in 1960. 

The unification of Somaliland and Somalia into one single Somali Republic on 1st July 1960. Nine years later, the Somali Democratic Republic was formed, and in the 1970s, the nation would occupy Ethiopia's Ogaden region, claiming as the original Greater Somalia. Tension rose in the Somali region in 1991 when former British Somaliland seceded as the Republic of Somaliland on 18th May 1991, a nation not recognised internationally. Seven years later, the northeastern region, known as Puntland, declared the territory autonomous. 

The troubled state in Somalia started exceeding in the 1970s when a series of unstable intermediary governments were established, beginning with the Somali Democratic Republic between 1969 to 1991. This was followed by the Interim Government of Somalia (and the separatist Republic of Somaliland) between 1991 to 1997. Between 2000 to 2004, a Transitional National Government of the Republic of Somalia was established with disintegrated state authorities. The failure to establish peace and end the civil war led to the establishment of another interim government - the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia between 2004 to 2012. 

French Somaliland also had a brief Russian interaction in Sagallo in 1889. Other than that, the territory changed its status from a colony to an overseas territory of France in 1946. Multiple independence referendums were held, once in 1958 and the other in 1967, leading to French victory; hence, in 1967, the French Territory of the Afars and Issas was established. Finally, in 1977, the country gained independence, and the intermediate Sultanates, such as Tadjoura, Gobaad and Rahayta, became part of Djibouti. 

On old maps, Djibouti is predominantly written as Jibuti, while the Somali coast has various names. Names of the kingdoms mentioned above, such as Adel, and other clan names, such as Adea and Granze, and the cities of Barbara, Zazella, Asum and Magadaxo, are to be found on a 16th-century map. On a 1708 dated French map, the Somali coast is mentioned as Coste d'Azur. On another 1822 French map, the word Saumolis appears in the Somaliland territory, while clans such as Merrehan, Jego, Magadoxo and Gallas encompass the remaining areas of Somalia and parts of Ethiopia. With the progression in the 19th century, the Somauli Country phrase started to appear, overtaking the former Adel Sultanate, while Magadoxo became the head of state. And thus, the word Somali becomes much more prominent than others. 

Today, the provinces of Somalia are divided into 18 regions, while that of Djibouti has 6. Below is a map of the Somali coast dating back to the early 1900s.