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AEGIS European Conference on African Studies
11 - 14 July 2007
African Studies Centre, Leiden, The Netherlands
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Bordering the British Empire: Imperial Ethiopia's eastern frontier
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86. Invited AEGIS panel: Borderlands Identities and Bureaucratic Practices: Emerging Cross-Disciplinary Perspectives
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| Paper ID | 744 |
| Author(s) |
Barnes, Cedric
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| Paper |
View paper (PDF)
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| Abstract | The borderland between Imperial Ethiopia and British Somaliland was quite literally a 'productive site', encompassing the some of the best agricultural and important pastoral land resources in the region. Moreover, not only was the 'use' of these areas subject to fierce internal competition by local Somali inhabitants, but it was also a point of contention between Ethiopian and British imperialism. Records show that the British along with 'their' Somalis - those they claimed to protect - bitterly regretted the cession of large 'productive' areas in this region to Ethiopia in the late 19th century. The British Somaliland Protectorate government was eternally searching for schemes to reintegrate parts of the Ethiopian ruled Somali-lands back into the Protectorate, which the Ethiopian's resisted. The borderlands - especially the area known as 'the Haud' became a cause celebre in the history of Somali nationalism and decolonisation. However before now, very little attention has been paid to the local politics and their agency before the era of decolonisation and independence. This paper will address some parts of this neglected history. |
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