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Territorial Appropriation, Trade, and Politics in the Somalia-Kenya Borderlands (C.1925-1963): State Formation in Transnational Perspective

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Territorial Appropriation, Trade, and Politics in the Somalia-Kenya Borderlands (C.1925-1963): State Formation in Transnational Perspective A Thesis Submitted for the Degree of PhD at the University of Warwick Permanent WRAP URL: http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/150661 Copyright and reuse: This thesis is made available online and is protected by original copyright. Please scroll down to view the document itself. Please refer to the repository record for this item for information to help you to cite it. Our policy information is available from the repository home page. For more information, please contact the WRAP Team at: [email protected] warwick.ac.uk/lib-publications Territorial Appropriation, Trade, and Politics in the Somalia-Kenya Borderlands (c.1925-1963): State Formation in Transnational Perspective by Anna Bruzzone A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in History University of Warwick, Department of History April 2019 Table of Contents List of Illustrations ................................................................................................................... 1 Acknowledgments .................................................................................................................... 2 Declaration ................................................................................................................................ 4 Abstract ..................................................................................................................................... 5 List of Terms ............................................................................................................................. 6 Linguistic Note .......................................................................................................................... 9 Introduction: Researching the colonial borderlands .......................................................... 10 The borderlands and the borderlanders .............................................................................. 17 Historiography and themes .................................................................................................. 21 Methodology and sources .................................................................................................... 37 Argument and thesis structure ............................................................................................. 44 PART I .................................................................................................................................... 60 1 BOUNDARY POLITICS, TRADE CORRIDORS, AND TRANSFORMATIONS OF TERRITORIALITY, c.1925-1934 ........................................................................ 61 1.1 Historical background: a complex social universe ............................................... 61 1.2 Competing imperialisms, border making, and local politics ................................. 70 1.3 The reorganisation of the Frontier, 1925-26 .......................................................... 76 1.4 Territorialisation, trade, and violence, 1926-1930 ............................................... 84 1.5 Taxation, drought, and displacement, c. 1930-34 ................................................. 97 1.6 Conclusion ........................................................................................................... 102 2 WAR, DEVELOPMENT POLICIES, AND THE EMERGENCE OF SOMALI NATIONALISM, 1934-1950 ...................................................................................... 104 2.1 The Italo-Ethiopian war: irregular levies, trade, and reFugees, 1934-39 ........... 104 2.2 The East AFrican Campaign, 1940-41 ................................................................. 112 2.3 The politics of security in British occupied Somalia, 1941-45 ............................ 115 2.4 The Cold War, Somali nationalism, and the ‘pro-Italia’ movement, 1946-50 .... 119 2.5 Farming schemes, Italian interests, and political allegiances in the Jubba Valley, 1942-50 ............................................................................................................ 123 2.6 Post-war development and Somali politics in north-eastern Kenya: the case of Wajir District ................................................................................................... 128 2.7 Conclusion ........................................................................................................... 135 PART II ................................................................................................................................. 137 3 AFIS, CLAN CONFLICT AND POLITICAL VIOLENCE, 1950-53 ................... 138 3.1 The Italian Trusteeship Administration of Somalia ............................................. 138 3.2 Rewarding political clients: veterans, recruits, and chiefs .................................. 139 3.3 Territorial appropriation and clan clashes on the Frontier ................................. 147 3.4 Struggling For control of Kismaayo, 1952-53 ...................................................... 151 3.5 The question of ‘deegaan’ .................................................................................... 162 3.6 Conclusion ........................................................................................................... 164 4 ELECTORAL POLITICS AND THE BORDER, 1954-1960 ................................. 166 4.1 Cold War politics and the SYL ............................................................................. 166 4.2 The 1956 elections in the Lower Jubba Province ................................................ 172 4.3 The 1958 municipal elections .............................................................................. 181 4.4 The 1959 general election in the Jubba Valley .................................................... 183 4.5 Negotiating political authority across the border ............................................... 191 4.6 Cross-border trade and political allegiances among the Kenya Somalis ........... 196 4.7 Conclusion ........................................................................................................... 204 PART III ............................................................................................................................... 207 5 DECOLONIZATION, TRADE, AND POLITICAL ACTIVISM IN THE NFD, c.1955-62 ....................................................................................................................... 208 5.1 British policy and the ‘Somalia threat’, 1955-60 ................................................ 208 5.2 Social relations, identities, and politics in the NFD, 1954-60 ............................. 214 5.3 The local dynamics of political mobilisation, 1960-61 ........................................ 226 5.4 The internationalization of the NFD issue, 1960-62 ........................................... 234 5.5 The Northern Frontier District Commission and its implications ....................... 239 5.6 Conclusion ........................................................................................................... 243 6 COLONIAL RESPONSE AND THE POLITICS OF INSURRECTION ............. 246 6.1 Popular discontent and the 1963 general election .............................................. 246 6.2 Shadows under the sun: an unsolved double murder .......................................... 250 6.3 Military escalation, Fractured politics, and insurrection ..................................... 255 6.4 Conclusion ........................................................................................................... 269 Conclusion: The borderlanders and the state, an ambivalent but vital relationship .... 270 BIBLIOGRAPHY ................................................................................................................ 278 List of Illustrations 1. Map 1: Kenya-Somalia, An Overview of the Border Area….…………………..54 2. Map 2: European spheres of influence in East Africa followinG the AnGlo-Italian Treaty of 1889…………………………………………………………………...55 3. Map 3: Kenya, Administrative Boundaries, 1918……………………………….56 4. Map 4: The New Western Boundary of Italian Somaliland, 1928………..……..57 5. Map 5: Kenya, Administrative Boundaries Proclamation 158 of 1929................58 6. Map 6: Kenya, Administrative Boundaries, 1961……………………………….59 7. DeleGates from the Northern Frontier Province with Somali government officials in MoGadishu, September 1961………………………………………………...239 8. Map 7: Sketch Map of the Area Concerned by ‘ShiFta’ Activity………………266 1 AcknowledGments This thesis has been funded by the University of Warwick through a Chancellor’s Scholarship. The research was supported by grants from the Department of History and the Callum MacDonald Memorial Bursary, University of Warwick, the British Institute in Eastern Africa, and the Royal Historical Society. This thesis is built on the dedication and diligence of the staff at the Kenyan National Archives in Nairobi (I am particularly thankful to Richard Ambani for his tireless helpfulness); The National Archives in Kew, the Weston Library in Oxford, the Historical-Diplomatic Archives of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Historical Archives of the Historical Museum of the Carabinieri Corps, the Historical Archives of the Historical Office of the Carabinieri General Command, and the Archives of the Historical Office of the Italian Army General Staff, all in Rome. I am grateful to my supervisors, Professor David M. Anderson and Professor Daniel Branch, whose incisive criticism and enthusiasm have motivated and sustained me throughout the
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