French Somaliland

French Somaliland
Côte Française des Somalis Dhulka Soomaaliyeed ee Faransiiska
Colony (1896–1946) Overseas territory (1946–1967)
1896–1967 (71 years)
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Anthem La Marseillaise  •  Djibouti (instrumental only)
French Somaliland in 1922
Capital		Djibouti
Languages		French, Somali, Afar, Arabic
Religion		Christianity, Islam
Demonym		Somali French Somali
Government		Dependent territory
Governor
•	1896–1899	Léonce Lagarde
•	1966–1967	Louis Saget
Historical era		New Imperialism
•	Established	May 20, 1896
•	Italian invasion	June 18, 1940
•	British occupation	December 28, 1942
•	Status changed to overseas territory	October 27, 1946
•	Renamed	July 5, 1967 (71 years)
Area
•	1963	23,200 km² (8,958 sq mi)
Population
•	1963 est.	165,000
Density		7.1 /km²  (18.4 /sq mi)
Currency		French franc (1896–1949) French Somaliland franc (1949–1967)
Succeeded by French Territory of the Afars and the Issas
Today part of		Djibouti

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French Somaliland (French: Côte française des Somalis, lit. "French Coast of Somalis"; Somali: Dhulka Soomaaliyeed ee Faransiiska) was a French colony in the Horn of Africa. It existed between 1883 and 1967.

It was established between 1883 and 1887, after the ruling Somali and Afar sultans signed the land away in various treaties with the French. The name of French Somaliland , “Cote Francaise des Somalis” is said to have been proposed by Mohamed Haji Dide of the Mahad 'Ase branch of the Gadabuursi. He himself before the arrival of the French was prosperous merchant of Zayla and the sultan. He came on to build the first Mosque in Djibouti "Gami ar-Rahma" in 1891.

On the other side of the Bab el Mandeb strait, the French held a small peninsula in the Aden territory.

The construction of the Imperial Ethiopian Railway west into Ethiopia turned the port of Djibouti into a boomtown of 15,000 at a time when Harar was the only city in Ethiopia to exceed that.

Although the population fell after the completion of the line to Dire Dawa and the original company failed and required a government bail-out, the rail link allowed the territory to quickly supersede the caravan-based trade carried on at Zeila (then in the British area of Somaliland) and become the premier port for coffee and other goods leaving southern Ethiopia and the Ogaden through Harar.