英属索马里兰

British Somaliland, officially the Somaliland Protectorate (Somali: Maxmiyadda Dhulka Soomaalida), was a protectorate of the United Kingdom in the territory of modern Somaliland. It was bordered by Italian Somalia, French Somali Coast, and the Ethiopian Empire (later part of Italian East Africa from 1936 to 1941).

From 1884 to 1920, the territory was a British protectorate consisting of self-ruling sultanates. Following the defeat of the Dervish movement by British forces in 1920, the protectorate was formally established as a Crown colony.

During World War II, British Somaliland was occupied by Italy from 3 August 1940 until 8 April 1941, when British forces recaptured the territory.

On 26 June 1960, British Somaliland gained independence as the State of Somaliland. Five days later, on 1 July 1960, it voluntarily united with the Trust Territory of Somalia (former Italian Somaliland) to form the Somali Republic.

The government of Somaliland, an unrecognised state recognised internationally as an autonomous region of Somalia, regards itself as the successor state to British Somaliland. As of 26 December 2025, Israel is the only United Nations member state that recognises the Republic of Somaliland as an independent sovereign state.

History

Protectorate Treaties

The British, the Isaaq Sultanate and the Isaaq clan in Somaliland had come into contact in 1825, when a British ship named the Mary Anne was attacked, sacked, and plundered by Isaaq forces in the port city of Berbera.

The attack led to a British attack of the city and subsequent negotiations with the Sultanate. Further incidents occurred in the 1850s, notably with the Attack on British exploring expeditions and the Blockade of Berbera (1855), which were key points of friction between the British and the Isaaq.……

Dervish war

Beginning in 1899, the British were forced to expend considerable human and military capital to contain a decades-long resistance mounted by the Dervish movement. The movement was led by Sayyid Mohammed Abdullah Hassan, a Somali religious leader who was pejoratively referred to by the British as the "Mad Mullah". Repeated military expeditions were unsuccessfully launched against Hassan and his Dervishes before the First World War.

British Somaliland 1920–1960

Following the defeat of the Dervish resistance, the two fundamental goals of British policy in British Somaliland were the preservation of stability and the economic self-sufficiency of the protectorate. The second goal remained particularly elusive because of local resistance to taxation that might have been used to support the protectorate's administration. By the 1930s, the British presence had extended to other parts of British Somaliland.……

Italian invasion

In August 1940, during the East African campaign in World War II, British Somaliland was invaded by Italy.……

Politics

Until 1898, Somaliland was administered by the British resident at Aden as a dependency of the Government of India. From 1898 it was under the purview of the Foreign Office, and from 1905 onward (with the exception of a period of military administration until 1948 following the Italian invasion) it was administered by the Colonial Office.

Republic of Somaliland

In 1991, after a bloody civil war for independence in the northern part of the Somali Democratic Republic, the area which formerly encompassed British Somaliland declared independence. In May 1991, the formation of the "Republic of Somaliland" was proclaimed, with the local government regarding it as the successor to the former British Somaliland as well as to the State of Somaliland. However, as of 26 December 2025, Israel is the only United Nations member state that recognises the Republic of Somaliland as an independent sovereign state.