Initially,
Ali Yusuf Kenadid's goal was to seize control of the neighboring Majeerteen Sultanate, which was then ruled by his cousin Boqor
Osman Mahamud. However, he was unsuccessful in this endeavor, and was eventually forced into exile in
Yemen. A decade later, in the 1870s, Kenadid returned from the
Arabian Peninsula with a band of
Hadhrami musketeers and a group of devoted lieutenants.
With their assistance, he managed to overpower the local Hawiye clans and establish the kingdom of Hobyo in 1878.
[6][7] [8]
In late 1888, Sultan Kenadid entered into a treaty with the
Italians, making his realm an Italian
protectorate. His rival Boqor Osman would sign a similar agreement vis-a-vis his own Sultanate the following year. Both rulers had signed the protectorate treaties to advance their own expansionist objectives, with Kenadid looking to use Italy's support in his dispute with the
Omani Sultan of Zanzibar over an area bordering
Warsheikh, in addition to his ongoing power struggle over the Majeerteen Sultanate with Boqor Osman. In signing the agreements, the rulers also hoped to exploit the rival objectives of the European imperial powers so as to more effectively assure the continued independence of their territories.
[9]
The terms of each treaty specified that Italy was to steer clear of any interference in the sultanates' respective administrations.[9] In return for Italian arms and an annual subsidy, the Sultans conceded to a minimum of oversight and economic concessions.[10] The Italians also agreed to dispatch a few ambassadors to promote both the sultanates' and their own interests.[9]
However, the relationship between Hobyo and Italy soured when Sultan Kenadid refused the Italians' proposal to allow a
British contingent of troops to disembark in his Sultanate so that they might then pursue their battle against the Somali religious and nationalist leader
Mohammed Abdullah Hassan's
Dervish forces.
[11] Viewed as too much of a threat by the Italians, Sultan Kenadid was eventually exiled to
Aden in Yemen and then to
Eritrea, as was his son
Ali Yusuf, the heir apparent to his throne.
[12] However, unlike the southern territories, the northern sultanates were not subject to direct rule due to the earlier treaties they had signed with the Italians.
[13]