Djibouti is a country in the Horn of Africa. It is bordered by Somaliland to the southeast,
Eritrea and the Red Sea to the north and northeast, Ethiopia to the west and south, and the Gulf
of Aden to the east.
In antiquity, the territory was part of the Land of Punt. The Djibouti area, along with
other localities in the Horn region, was later the seat of the medieval Adal and Ifat Sultanates.
In the late 19th century, the colony of French Somaliland was established following treaties
signed by the ruling Somali and Afar Sultans with the French. It was subsequently renamed
to the French Territory of the Afars and the Issas in 1967. A decade later, the Djiboutian
people voted for independence, officially marking the establishment of the Republic
of Djibouti. Prehistory
The Bab-el-Mandeb region has often been considered a primary crossing point for early hominins
following a southern coastal route from East Africa to South and Southeast Asia.
Djibouti area has been inhabited since the Neolithic. According to linguists, the first
Afroasiatic-speaking populations arrived in the region during this period from the family's
proposed urheimat in the Nile Valley, or the Near East. Other scholars propose that the
Afroasiatic family developed in situ in the Horn, with its speakers subsequently dispersing
from there.
The cut stones 3 million years old, collected in the area of Lake Abbe. In the Gobaad plain
, the remains of an Palaeoloxodon recki elephant were also discovered, visibly butchered using
basalt tools found nearby. These remains would date from 1.4 million years BC. Subsequently
identified other sites of these cuts, probably the work of Homo ergaster. An Acheulean site
, where stone was cut, was excavated in the 1990s, in Gombourta, between Damerdjog and
Loyada, 15 km south of Djibouti City. Finally, in Gobaad, a Homo erectus jaw was found, dating
from 100,000 BC. AD On Devil's Island, tools dating back 6,000 years have been found, which
were no doubt used to open shells. In the area at the bottom of Goubet , circular stone
structures and fragments of painted pottery have also been discovered. Previous investigators
have also reported a fragmentary maxilla, attributed to an older form of Homo sapiens
and dated to ~250 Ka, from the valley of the Dagadlé Wadi.
Pottery predating the mid-2nd millennium has been found at Asa Koma, an inland lake area
on the Gobaad Plain. The site's ware is characterized by punctate and incision geometric designs,
which bear a similarity to the Sabir culture phase 1 ceramics from Ma'layba in Southern
Arabia. Long-horned humpless cattle bones have likewise been discovered at Asa Koma,
suggesting that domesticated cattle were present by around 3,500 years ago. Rock art of what
appear to be antelopes and a giraffe are also found at Dorra and Balho. Handoga, dated to
the fourth millennium BP, has in turn yielded obsidian microliths and plain ceramics used
by early nomadic pastoralists with domesticated cattle.
The site of Wakrita is a small Neolithic establishment located on a wadi in the tectonic depression
of Gobaad in Djibouti in the Horn of Africa. The 2005 excavations yielded abundant ceramics
that enabled us to define one Neolithic cultural facies of this region, which was also identified
at the nearby site of Asa Koma. The faunal remains confirm the importance of fishing
in Neolithic settlements close to Lake Abbé, but also the importance of bovine husbandry
and, for the first time in this area, evidence for caprine herding practices. Radiocarbon
dating places this occupation at the beginning of the 2nd millennium BC, similar in range
to Asa Koma. These two sites represent the oldest evidence of herding in the region,
and they provide a better understanding of the development of Neolithic societies in
this region.
Up to 4000 years BC. AD, the region benefited from a climate very different from the one
it knows today and probably close to the Mediterranean climate. The water resources were numerous:
lakes in the Gobaad, lakes Assal and Abbé larger and resembling real bodies of water.
The humans therefore lived by gathering, fishing and hunting. The region was populated by a
very rich fauna: felines, buffaloes, elephants, rhinos, etc., as evidenced, for example, by
the bestiary of cave paintings at Balho. In the 3rd and 2nd millennia BC. A few nomads
settled around the lakes and practiced fishing and cattle breeding. The burial of an 18-year-old
woman, dating from this period, as well as the bones of hunted animals, bone tools and
small jewels have been unearthed. About 1500 BC. AD, the climate is already changing, water
is scarce. Engravings show dromedaries , some of which are ridden by armed warriors. Sedentary
peoples return to Nomadic life. A stone tumuli , sheltering graves and dating from this period,
have been unearthed all over the territory.
Antiquity Together with Somaliland, Eritrea and the
Red Sea coast of Sudan, Djibouti is considered the most likely location of the land known
to the ancient Egyptians as Punt . The old territory's first mention dates to the 25th
century BC. The Puntites were a nation of people that had close relations with Ancient
Egypt during the times of Pharaoh Sahure of the fifth dynasty and Queen Hatshepsut of
the eighteenth dynasty. They "traded not only in their own produce of incense, ebony and
short-horned cattle, but also in goods from other neighbouring regions, including gold,
ivory and animal skins." According to the temple reliefs at Deir el-Bahari, the Land
of Punt at the time of Hatshepsut was ruled by King Parahu and Queen Ati.
Macrobians The Macrobians were a legendary people and
kingdom positioned in the Horn of Africa mentioned by Herodotus. Later authors place them in
India instead. It is one of the legendary peoples postulated at the extremity of the
known world , in this case in the extreme south, contrasting with the Hyperboreans in
the extreme east.
Their name is due to their legendary longevity; an average person supposedly living to the
age of 120. They were said to be the "tallest and handsomest of all men".
According to Herodotus' account, the Persian Emperor Cambyses II upon his conquest of Egypt
sent ambassadors to Macrobia, bringing luxury gifts for the Macrobian king to entice his
submission. The Macrobian ruler, who was elected based at least in part on stature, replied
instead with a challenge for his Persian counterpart in the form of an unstrung bow: if the Persians
could manage to string it, they would have the right to invade his country; but until
then, they should thank the gods that the Macrobians never decided to invade their empire.
Kingdom of Aksum The rule of the Askumite Kingdom may have
at times extended to areas that are now within Djibouti, though the nature and extent of
its control are not clear.
Adal Sultanate Islam was introduced to the area early on
from the Arabian peninsula, shortly after the hijra. Zeila's two-mihrab Masjid al-Qiblatayn
dates to the 7th century, and is the oldest mosque in the city. In the late 9th century,
Al-Yaqubi wrote that Muslims were living along the northern Horn seaboard. He also mentioned
that the Adal kingdom had its capital in Zeila, a port city in the northwestern Awdal region
abutting Djibouti. This suggests that the Adal Sultanate with Zeila as its headquarters
dates back to at least the 9th or 10th century. According to I.M. Lewis, the polity was governed
by local dynasties consisting of Somalized Arabs or Arabized Somalis, who also ruled
over the similarly established Sultanate of Mogadishu in the Benadir region to the south.
Adal's history from this founding period forth would be characterized by a succession of
battles with neighbouring Abyssinia. At its height, the Adal kingdom controlled large
parts of modern-day Djibouti, Somaliland, Eritrea and Ethiopia. Between Djibouti City
and Loyada are a number of anthropomorphic and phallic stelae. The structures are associated
with graves of rectangular shape flanked by vertical slabs, as also found in Tiya, central
Ethiopia. The Djibouti-Loyada stelae are of uncertain age, and some of them are adorned
with a T-shaped symbol. Additionally, archaeological excavations at Tiya have yielded tombs. As
of 1997, 118 stelae were reported in the area. Along with the stelae in the Hadiya Zone,
the structures are identified by local residents as Yegragn Dingay or "Gran's stone", in reference
to Imam Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi , ruler of the Adal Sultanate.
Ifat Sultanate The Ifat Sultanate was a medieval kingdom
in the Horn of Africa. Founded in 1285 by the Walashma dynasty, it was centered in Zeila.
Ifat established bases in Djibouti and Somaliland, and from there expanded southward to the Ahmar
Mountains. Its Sultan Umar Walashma is recorded as having conquered the Sultanate of Shewa
in 1285. Taddesse Tamrat explains Sultan Umar's military expedition as an effort to consolidate
the Muslim territories in the Horn, in much the same way as Emperor Yekuno Amlak was attempting
to unite the Christian territories in the highlands during the same period. These two
states inevitably came into conflict over Shewa and territories further south. A lengthy
war ensued, but the Muslim sultanates of the time were not strongly unified. Ifat was finally
defeated by Emperor Amda Seyon I of Ethiopia in 1332, and withdrew from Shewa.
Egypt Eyalet Governor Abou Baker ordered the Egyptian garrison
at Sagallo to retire to Zeila. The cruiser Seignelay reached Sagallo shortly after the
Egyptians had departed. French troops occupied the fort despite protests from the British
Agent in Aden, Major Frederick Mercer Hunter, who dispatched troops to safeguard British
and Egyptian interests in Zeila and prevent further extension of French influence in that
direction. On 14 April 1884 the Commander of the patrol sloop L’Inferent reported
on the Egyptian occupation in the Gulf of Tadjoura. The Commander of the patrol sloop
Le Vaudreuil reported that the Egyptians were occupying the interior between Obock and Tadjoura.
Emperor Johannes IV of Ethiopia signed an accord with the United Kingdom to cease fighting
the Egyptians and to allow the evacuation of Egyptian forces from Ethiopia and the Somali
Coast ports. The Egyptian garrison was withdrawn from Tadjoura. Léonce Lagarde deployed a
patrol sloop to Tadjoura the following night.
French Somaliland The boundaries of the present-day Djibouti
nation state were established during the Scramble for Africa. It was Rochet d'Hericourt's exploration
into Shoa that marked the beginning of French interest in the Djiboutian coast of the Red
Sea. Rochet d'Héricourt acquired the town of Tadjoura 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 contract, further exploration by Henri Lambert, French Consular
Agent at Aden, and Captain Fleuriot de Langle led to a treaty of friendship and assistance
between France and the sultans of Raheita, Tadjoura, and Gobaad, from whom the French
purchased the anchorage of Obock in 1862.
Growing French interest in the area took place against a backdrop of British activity in
Egypt and the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869. Between 1883 and 1887, France signed
various treaties with the then ruling Somali and Afar Sultans, which allowed it to expand
the protectorate to include the Gulf of Tadjoura. Léonce Lagarde was subsequently installed
as the protectorate's governor. In 1894, he established a permanent French administration
in the city of Djibouti and named the region Côte française des Somalis , a name which
continued until 1967. The territory's border with Ethiopia, marked out in 1897 by France
and Emperor Menelik II of Ethiopia, was later reaffirmed by agreements with Emperor Haile
Selassie I of Ethiopia in 1945 and 1954.
In 1889, a Russian by the name of Nikolay Ivanovitch Achinov , arrived with settlers,
infantry and an Orthodox priest to Sagallo on the Gulf of Tadjoura. The French considered
the presence of the Russians as a violation of their territorial rights and dispatched
two gunboats. The Russians were bombarded and after some loss of life, surrendered.
The colonists were deported to Odessa and the dream of Russian expansion in East Africa
came to an end in less than one year. The administrative capital was moved from
Obock in 1896. The city of Djibouti, which had a harbor with good access that attracted
trade caravans crossing East Africa, became the new administrative capital. The Franco-Ethiopian
railway, linking Djibouti to the heart of Ethiopia, began in 1897 and reached Addis
Ababa in June 1917, increasing the volume of trade passing through the port.
World War II After the Italian invasion and occupation
of Ethiopia in the mid-1930s, constant border skirmishes occurred between French forces
in French Somaliland and Italian forces in Italian East Africa. In June 1940, during
the early stages of World War II, France fell and the colony was then ruled by the pro-Axis
Vichy government.
British and Commonwealth forces fought the neighboring Italians during the East African
Campaign. In 1941, the Italians were defeated and the Vichy forces in French Somaliland
were isolated. The Vichy French administration continued to hold out in the colony for over
a year after the Italian collapse. In response, the British blockaded the port of Djibouti
City but it could not prevent local French from providing information on the passing
ship convoys. In 1942, about 4,000 British troops occupied the city. A local battalion
from French Somaliland participated in the Liberation of Paris in 1944.
Referendums In 1958, on the eve of neighboring Somalia's
independence in 1960, a referendum was held in Djibouti to decide whether to be an independent
country or to remain with France. The referendum turned out in favour of a continued association
with France, partly due to a combined yes vote by the sizable Afar ethnic group and
resident Europeans. There were also reports of widespread vote rigging, with the French
expelling thousands of Somalis before the referendum reached the polls. The majority
of those who voted no were Somalis who were strongly in favour of joining a united Somalia
as had been proposed by Mahmoud Harbi, Vice President of the Government Council. Harbi
died in a plane crash two years later under mysterious circumstances.
In 1960, with the fall of the ruling Dini administration, Ali Aref Bourhan, a Harbist
politician, assumed the seat of Vice President of the Government Council of French Somaliland,
representing the UNI party. He would hold that position until 1966.
That same year, France rejected the United Nations' recommendation that it should grant
French Somaliland independence. In August, an official visit to the territory by then
French President, General Charles de Gaulle, was also met with demonstrations and rioting.
In response to the protests, de Gaulle ordered another referendum.
On 19 March 1967, a second plebiscite was held to determine the fate of the territory.
Initial results supported a continued but looser relationship with France. Voting was
also divided along ethnic lines, with the resident Somalis generally voting for independence,
with the goal of eventual reunion with Somalia, and the Afars largely opting to remain associated
with France. However, the referendum was again marred by reports of vote rigging on the part
of the French authorities, with some 10,000 Somalis deported under the pretext that they
did not have valid identity cards. According to official figures, although the territory
was at the time inhabited by 58,240 Somali and 48,270 Afar, only 14,689 Somali were allowed
to register to vote versus 22,004 Afar. Somali representatives also charged that the French
had simultaneously imported thousands of Afar nomads from neighboring Ethiopia to further
tip the odds in their favor, but the French authorities denied this, suggesting that Afars
already greatly outnumbered Somalis on the voting lists. Announcement of the plebiscite
results sparked civil unrest, including several deaths. France also increased its military
force along the frontier.
French Territory of the Afars and Issas In 1967, shortly after the second referendum
was held, the former Côte française des Somalis was renamed to Territoire français
des Afars et des Issas. This was both in acknowledgement of the large Afar constituency and to downplay
the significance of the Somali composition .
The French Territory of Afars and Issas also differed from French Somaliland in terms of
government structure, as the position of governor changed to that of high commissioner. A nine-member
council of government was also implemented. During the 1960s, the struggle for independence
was led by the Front for the Liberation of the Somali Coast , who waged an armed struggle
for independence with much of its violence aimed at French personnel. FLCS used to initiate
few mounting cross-border operations into French Somaliland from Somalia and Ethiopia
to attacks on French targets. On 24 March 1975 the Front de Libération de la Côte
des Somalis kidnapped the French Ambassador to Somalia, Jean Guery, to be exchanged against
two activists of FLCS members who were both serving life terms in mainland France. He
was exchanged for the two FLCS members in Aden, South Yemen. With a steadily enlarging
Somali population, the likelihood of a third referendum appearing successful had grown
even more dim. The prohibitive cost of maintaining the colony and the fact that after 1975, France
found itself to be the last remaining colonial power in Africa was another factor that compelled
observers to doubt that the French would attempt to hold on to the territory.
In 1976, the French garrison, centered on the 13th Demi-Brigade of the Foreign Legion
, had to be reinforced to contain Somali irredentist aspirations, revolting against the French-engineered
Afar domination of the emerging government. In 1976, members of the Front de Libération
de la Côte des Somalis which sought Djibouti's independence from France, also clashed with
the Gendarmerie Nationale Intervention Group over a bus hijacking en route to Loyada.
The FLCS was recognized as a national liberation movement by the Organization of African Unity
, which participated in its financing. The FLCS evolved its demands between the request
of integration in a possible "Greater Somalia" influenced by the Somali government or the
simple independence of the territory. In 1975 the African People's League for the Independence
and FLCS met in Kampala, Uganda with several meeting later they finally opted for independence
path, causing tensions with Somalia.