History of Djibouti

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Djibouti map

The history of Djibouti includes the history of today's state of Djibouti in the Horn of Africa , the history of the French colony from which this state emerged and the pre-colonial history of this area, which did not exist as a political unit in pre-colonial times.

Pre-colonial period

All of today's ethnic groups are immigrants from neighboring regions. From the 13th century, Afar (also called Danakil) immigrated to what is now the state of Djibouti. Small waves of immigrants also came from the Arabian Peninsula . Finally, members of the Issa - Somali people migrated from the east , which today make up the majority of the population. The inhabitants were under the rule of local and regional sultans. There was no major state formation, which encompasses most of today's national territory. The Portuguese ruled the coast for a short time in the 16th century when they came to the aid of Ethiopia, which was besieged by Ahmed Gran . In 1839 the French tried to establish a base in Amphala , and a year later the British captured the island of Moucha in the Gulf of Tadjoura . The Frenchman Rochet d'Héricourt acquired Tadjoura (Tajura) from the King of Shewa in 1842 . The problem was that this king was not the owner of Tadjoura, but a local sultan who did not recognize the purchase agreement. Another unsuccessful attempt at colonization was made in 1859 by the French merchant Henri Lambert .

Colonial times

Early colonial 1862–1896

Map of the Gulf of Aden with Djibouti (1888)

After all, Henri Lambert had successfully mediated contacts between France and the local rulers. As a result, France concluded an alliance and friendship treaty with the sultans of Tajura , Raheita and Gobaad on March 11, 1862 . At the same time, Dini Achmed Abu Bakr , the envoy of these sultans, signed a contract of sale from France for the town of Obock and its surroundings in Paris for the sum of 55,000 gold francs . France thus secured a landing site on the shipping route from Europe to India and in competition with the nearby British Aden . Until December 29, 1883, however, there was no effective French rule over the acquired territory. When the Italians and Russians (see Sagallo ) wanted to gain a foothold in the area, Léonce Lagarde became the first commissioner of the Obock Territory (French le territoire d'Obock ), as the area was called. With the acquisition of the port city of Tadjoura in 1884, the area was named Territoire Française d'Obock, Tadjoura, Dankils et Somalis . Lagarde was promoted to command of the area. The British, who established themselves east of this territory in British Somaliland , recognized the rule of the French on February 9, 1888, and with these established the borders of their territories. In the same year the French founded Djibouti as a new port. Four years later, Djibouti became the new capital of the colony instead of Obock. With the further acquisition of territories, the colony expanded from the original 400 km² to its present area of ​​23,200 km² and in 1896 was named the French Somali Coast (French Côte française des Somalis ). Lagarde became the first French governor.

French Somali Coast 1896–1967

The colony became the main port for goods from / to Ethiopia with the completion of the railway line from Djibouti City to Addis Ababa in 1917. Otherwise, the area was hardly populated because of the extensive desert character.

On June 22, 1940, the leadership of the colony declared its loyalty to the Vichy regime . The colonial administration under Pierre Nouailhetas cracked down on actual or alleged opponents of the Vichy regime and also supported fascist Italy, which was occupying Ethiopia . British warships therefore erected a blockade over the area from September 1940 to January 1942, which led to the famine. The name carmii for this time is said to be derived from the name of a sorghum species that is normally used as cattle feed, but was also consumed by humans at the time. After the previous Vichy loyalists had fled, the colony switched to Free France on December 4, 1942, and the British lifted the blockade.

In 1946 the area became an overseas territory ( Territoire d'outre-mer , abbreviated TOM) and sent a delegate to the French National Assembly. According to the Loi Lamine Guèye Act of 1946, all citizens of the Overseas Territories had the right to vote in elections to the French Parliament, so that women had the right to vote for this body . However, two classes (collèges) were chosen.

In 1956 Djibouti received limited autonomy through the loi-cadre Defferre . Only this law guaranteed universal suffrage. From 1956 parties were allowed. The two most important political groups in the elections to the Territorial Council in 1957 were the Union Républicaine of Mahamoud Harbi and the Défense des Intérêts Economiques et Sociaux du Térritoire (DIEST) under Hassan Gouled Aptidon . The UR won all seats, but split a year later over the issue of the colony's independence. While the Afar wanted to retain the majority of the status, many Somali sought independence and the connection of Djibouti to a greater Somalia . On September 28, 1958, the population decided to maintain the status of TOM and against independence. The previous head of government Harbi, a staunch supporter of independence, lost the support of his party. In October 1958, riots broke out in Djibouti over the vote. DIEST received the majority in the new elections. Harbi's own party, the Union Démocratique des Somalis (UDC), received only seven of the 32 seats. Harbi left the country disappointed. On December 12, 1958, the Territorial Council confirmed TOM status. At the same time, the rivalries between the Afar and the Issa, the largest of the three Somali clans, increased. While Gouled Aptidon belongs to the Somali majority, his successors as heads of government until 1976 are all members of the pro-French Afar minority. In 1959 Ahmed Dini Ahmed became head of government, but he was replaced by Ali Aref Bourhan in June 1960 . From 1966 onwards there was increased hostility between the two camps. Bourhan resigned in 1966 in favor of Abdallah Mohamed Kamil .

French Afar and Issa Territories 1967–1977

On March 19, 1967, France had another vote on the status held. Of the 39,512 voters, 22,555 (57.08%) voted to remain with France and 14,666 for independence. However, many Somali did not vote. The area was renamed French Afar and Issa Territories . On July 7, 1967, Kamil resigned from the Afar Democratic Assembly (French Rassemblement Démocratique Afar RDA) and Bourhan (now from the National Union for Independence ; French Union Nationale pour l'Indépendence UNI) was again head of government. In the 1968 elections, his party won 26 of the 32 seats. The UN and the OAU called for the area to be decolonized. Somali founded the Liberation Movement Front de la Côte des Somalis (FLCS), which operated from the Republic of Somalia . In 1972 the area received greater self-government. In the same year Hassan Gouled Aptidon founded the party African People's League for Independence (French Ligue Populaire Africaine pour l'Indépendence LPAI). In May 1975 there were serious disputes between the Somali and Afar over the question of annexation to Somalia. These riots claim eleven deaths. France accelerated the independence process in order to get away from the colony that had meanwhile become ballast. Discussions were held to draft a new constitution, which was concluded on March 19, 1977. On May 8, 1977, a third referendum resulted in a majority of 99.75% in favor of independence. The Afar did not take part in the vote. The colony became independent on June 27, 1977 under the name of Djibouti . Universal suffrage regardless of gender was confirmed in 1977.

Independent Djibouti

Relations between Afar and Somali remained tense in independent Djibouti. Hassan Gouled Aptidon dissolved the LPAI in 1979 and founded the RPP , which he made the only permitted unity party in 1981 . Afar, who felt they were disadvantaged, founded the rebel organization Front pour la Restauration de l'Unité et de la Démocratie (FRUD), which fought with the government army from 1991-1994 . This Djiboutian civil war helped re-establish a multi-party system in 1992. However, the RPP - which the FRUD largely joined after the peace treaty - continues to dominate politics.

In 1999, Somali Ismail Omar Guelleh succeeded Hassan Gouled Aptidon as president, and in 2005 he was re-elected without a candidate. Since 1986 the country has been the seat of the regional organization IGAD , which was founded on the initiative of Aptidon. Operation Enduring Freedom has been operating from here since 2001 . In the middle of a troubled region (see Eritrea-Ethiopia war , Somali civil war ), Djibouti is politically relatively stable.

In 2008 there were border disputes with Eritrea .

See also

Web links

Commons : History of Djibouti  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Daoud Aboubaker Alwan, Yohanis Mibrathu: Blockade , Carmii and Pierre Nouailhetas , in: Historical Dictionary of Djibouti , Scarecrow Press 2000, ISBN 978-0-8108-3873-4
  2. ↑ - New Parline: the IPU's Open Data Platform (beta). In: data.ipu.org. October 27, 1946, accessed September 30, 2018 .
  3. ↑ Loi Lamine Guèye , accessed January 6, 2019.
  4. ^ Franz Ansperger: Politics in Black Africa: The modern political movements in Africa with French characteristics. Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden GmbH Wiesbaden, 1961, p. 68.
  5. ↑ a b June Hannam, Mitzi Auchterlonie, Katherine Holden: International Encyclopedia of Women's Suffrage. ABC-Clio, Santa Barbara, Denver, Oxford 2000, ISBN 1-57607-064-6 , p. 8.