History of Djibouti
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History of Djibouti Nomadic herds people have inhabited the territory now belonging to Djibouti for millennia. The Issas and the Afars, the nation’s two major ethnic groups today, lived there when Arab traders introduced Islam to the area in the ninth century AD. Arabs at the port of Adal at Zeila (in modern-day Somalia) controlled the region until Adal’s collapse in 1543.Small Afar sultanates at Obock, Tadjoura, and elsewhere then emerged as the dominant powers. Frenchman Rochet d’Hericourt’s 1839 to 1842 exploration into Shoa marked the beginning of French interest in the region. Hoping to counter British influence on the other side of the Gulf of Aden, the French signed a treaty with the Afar sultan of Obock to establish a port in 1862. This led to the formation of French Somaliland in 1888. The construction of the Franco-Ethiopian Railway from Djibouti City to Ethiopia began in 1897 and finally reached Addis Ababa in 1917. The railroad opened up the interior of French Somaliland, which in1946 was given the status of an overseas French territory. By the 1950s, the Issas (a Somali clan) began to support the movement for the independence and unification of the region’s three Somali-populated colonies: French, British, and Italian Somaliland. In 1960, British and Italian Somaliland were granted independence and united to form the nation of Somalia, but France retained its hold on French Somaliland. When French president Charles de Gaulle visited French Somaliland in August 1966, he was met with two days of protests. The French announced that a referendum on independence would be held but also arrested independence leaders and expelled their supporters. In the March 1967 vote, 60 percent of the population chose to remain under France. French Somaliland was renamed the French Territory of the Afars and Issas. Most support for the French was among the Afars, and Afar leader Ali Aref became the local head of the territorial government. As opposition to French rule continued to grow, demonstrations forced Ali Aref to resign in 1976. France then agreed to grant independence. Hassan Gouled Aptidon and his party, the People’s Progress Assembly (RPP), won elections in May1977, allowing him to become president when Djibouti became an independent country on 27 June 1977. Hassan Gouled led an Issa-dominated government with one party rule. In 1991, civil war broke out between government forces and Afar rebels. A peace treaty was signed in 1994, but one rebel faction refused to recognize the treaty and continued Page 1 of 2 History of Djibouti fighting. A final peace treaty was agreed to in 2000. In accordance with the treaty, multiparty elections were held in 2003.Issa leader Ismael Omar Guelleh won the contest and was elected to a final term, running unopposed, in 2005. References: “Republic of Djibouti.” CultureGrams World Edition. 2008. Page 2 of 2 .