For centuries, big powers have been obsessed with the Somali coastline. Italy, France, Britainâyou name it, they all pulled up to the Horn of Africa to flex. Control the coast = control the trade = control the region.
Even during Siad Barreâs time, both the Soviets and the Americans were leasing Somali ports like Kismayo and Berbera. Cold War games right on Somali soil.
But this story goes way further back. Even before the European colonizers showed up, Ethiopian kings from Tigray and Abyssinia were already writing letters to European rulers asking for help to get to the coast. Why? Simple: they needed firearms. No port = no weapons = no power.
Sea access = weapons = survival and dominance.
Now ask yourself: Should Somalis be worried Ethiopia still wants the ports?
History suggests... yes.
Menelik II (the short king with big ambitions) literally wrote to European leaders saying:
Later, another king from TigrayâYohannesâasked for not just access to a port, but territorial control over one. He even rejected Italyâs offer of a consulate in Massawa. Man said:
Menelik got so desperate for a port, he offered the French the ancient city of Harar in exchange for one.
French said ânah,â but they did sell him loads of weapons.
Italy was fuming, called Ethiopia a âbarbarous nationâ getting too strapped.
And with those French weapons? Menelik expanded his empire, declared himself âEmperor,â and renamed everything âEthiopia.â Meanwhile, Somalis were deliberately left unarmed.
Even Haile Selassie jumped in the game. After WWII, he told the UN that Ethiopia deserved the Somali coast and Red Sea accessâclaiming it had been âtakenâ during the colonial scramble.
Spoiler: Eritrea was handed over to Ethiopia.
Then Mengistu came along in the â70s and straight-up said Ethiopia would âdefend its access to the Red Sea, even if it turns redder from the blood.â Yeah. That was an actual quote.
In a letter sent to the heads of state of Britain, France, Germany, Italy, and Russia, Emperor Menelik II of Ethiopia stated clearly:
This letter can be found in the British Public Records Office, Foreign Office 1/32, and referenced in The Somali Peninsula, p. 86.
Bottom Line:
Ethiopiaâs obsession with Somali ports isnât new. Itâs been there for centuriesâthrough Menelik, Yohannes, Selassie, Mengistu, and now...
So when Somalis side-eye Ethiopian interest in the coast, it's not paranoia. Itâs historical muscle memory.
And the battle for the Hornâs coastline?
Still not over.
Even during Siad Barreâs time, both the Soviets and the Americans were leasing Somali ports like Kismayo and Berbera. Cold War games right on Somali soil.
But this story goes way further back. Even before the European colonizers showed up, Ethiopian kings from Tigray and Abyssinia were already writing letters to European rulers asking for help to get to the coast. Why? Simple: they needed firearms. No port = no weapons = no power.
Sea access = weapons = survival and dominance.
Now ask yourself: Should Somalis be worried Ethiopia still wants the ports?
History suggests... yes.
Menelik II (the short king with big ambitions) literally wrote to European leaders saying:
He didnât even claim cities like Mogadishu back then. He only knew about Zeila and Tajuraâbecause those were the trade routes for weapons.
Later, another king from TigrayâYohannesâasked for not just access to a port, but territorial control over one. He even rejected Italyâs offer of a consulate in Massawa. Man said:
They played European powers off each other just to secure guns and coastal access.
Menelik got so desperate for a port, he offered the French the ancient city of Harar in exchange for one.French said ânah,â but they did sell him loads of weapons.
Italy was fuming, called Ethiopia a âbarbarous nationâ getting too strapped.
And with those French weapons? Menelik expanded his empire, declared himself âEmperor,â and renamed everything âEthiopia.â Meanwhile, Somalis were deliberately left unarmed.
Even Haile Selassie jumped in the game. After WWII, he told the UN that Ethiopia deserved the Somali coast and Red Sea accessâclaiming it had been âtakenâ during the colonial scramble.
Spoiler: Eritrea was handed over to Ethiopia.
Then Mengistu came along in the â70s and straight-up said Ethiopia would âdefend its access to the Red Sea, even if it turns redder from the blood.â Yeah. That was an actual quote.
In a letter sent to the heads of state of Britain, France, Germany, Italy, and Russia, Emperor Menelik II of Ethiopia stated clearly:
In the same letter, he detailed Ethiopiaâs âactual boundariesâ as he saw themâincluding Somali regions like Ogaden, Habar Awal, Gadabursi, and Essa territoriesâeffectively laying symbolic and territorial claim over large parts of Somalia and its coastline.
This letter can be found in the British Public Records Office, Foreign Office 1/32, and referenced in The Somali Peninsula, p. 86.
Bottom Line:Ethiopiaâs obsession with Somali ports isnât new. Itâs been there for centuriesâthrough Menelik, Yohannes, Selassie, Mengistu, and now...
So when Somalis side-eye Ethiopian interest in the coast, it's not paranoia. Itâs historical muscle memory.
And the battle for the Hornâs coastline?
Still not over.
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Context Before the Letter
