1. History
    Antiquity  Middle ages  Early modern period  British Somaliland  Modern 

2. Geography
    Location and habitat  Climate 

3. Demographics

4. Education

5. Economy

6. Transportation

7. References

8. External links

In antiquity, Berbera was part of a chain of commercial port cities along the Somali seaboard. During the early modern period, Berbera was the most important place of trade in the entire Horn of Africa^[5]. It later served as the capital of the British Somaliland protectorate from 1884 to 1941, when it was replaced by Hargeisa. In 1960, the British Somaliland protectorate gained independence as the State of Somaliland and united five days later with the Trust Territory of Somalia (the former Italian Somalia) to form the Somali Republic.^[6][7] Located strategically on the oil route, the city has a deep seaport, which serves as the region's main commercial harbour.

History

Antiquity

Berbera was part of the classical Somali city-states that engaged in a lucrative trade network connecting Somali merchants with Phoenicia, Ptolemic Egypt, Ancient Greece, Parthian Persia, Saba, Nabataea and the Roman Empire. Somali sailors used the ancient Somali maritime vessel known as the beden to transport their cargo.^[8]

Berbera preserves the ancient name of the coast along the southern shore of the Gulf of Aden. It is thought to be the city Malao described as 800 stadia beyond the city of the Avalites, described in the eighth chapter of the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea, which was written by a Greek merchant in the first century AD. In the Periplus it is described as {{Quotation | an open roadstead, sheltered by a spit running out from the east. Here the natives are more peaceable. There are imported into this place the things already mentioned, and many tunics, cloaks from Arsinoe, dressed and dyed; drinking-cups, sheets of soft copper in small quantity, iron, and gold and silver coin, not much. There are exported from these places myrrh, a little frankincense, (that known as far-side), the harder cinnamon, duaca, Indian copal and macir, which are imported into Arabia; and slaves, but rarely.^[9]}}

Middle ages

Berbera was a powerful and well built city that served as a major harbor port for various of powerful Somali Kingdoms in the Middle Ages like the early Adal Kingdom, Ifat Sultanate and Adal Sultanate.^[11] It also made Zeila the regional capital due to the latter's strategic location on the Red Sea.

In Abu'l-Fida's, A Sketch of the Countries ({{lang-ar|تقويم البلدان}}), the present-day Gulf of Aden was called the Gulf of Berbera, which shows how important Berbera was in both regional and international trade during the medieval period.^[12]

Early modern period

One certainty about Berbera over the following centuries was that it was the site of an annual fair, held between October and April, which Mordechai Abir describes as "among the most important commercial events of the east coast of Africa."^[13] The major Somali clan of Isaaq in Somaliland, caravans from Harar and the interior, and Banyan merchants from Porbandar, Mangalore and Mumbai gathered to trade. All of this was kept secret from European merchants.^[14] Lieutenant C. J. Cruttenden, who wrote a memoir describing this portion of the Somali coast dated 12 May 1848, provided an account of the Berbera fair and an account of the historic environs of the town: "an aqueduct of stone and chunam, some nine miles [15 km] in length", which had once emptied into a presently dry reservoir adjacent to the ruins of a mosque. He explored part of its course from the reservoir past a number of tombs built of stones taken from the aqueduct to reach a spring, above which lay "the remains of a small fort or tower of chunam and stone ... on the hill-side immediately over the spring." Cruttenden noted that in "style it was different to any houses now found on the Somali coast", and concluded with noting the presence in "the neighbourhood of the fort above mentioned [an] abundance of broken glass and pottery ... from which I infer that it was a place of considerable antiquity; but, though diligent search was made, no traces of inscriptions could be discovered."^[15]

Berbera was the most important port in the Horn of Africa between the 18th–19th centuries.^[16] For centuries, Berbera had extensive trade relations with several historic ports in the Indian Subcontinent, Arabian Peninsula and beyond. Additionally, the Somali and Ethiopian interiors were very dependent on Berbera for trade, where most of the goods for export arrived from. During the 1833 trading season, the port town swelled to over 70,000 people, and upwards of 6,000 camels laden with goods arrived from the interior within a single day. Berbera was the main marketplace in the entire Somali seaboard for various goods procured from the interior, such as livestock, coffee, frankincense, myrrh, acacia gum, saffron, feathers, ghee, hide (skin), gold and ivory.^[17]

According to a trade journal published in 1856, Berbera was described as “the freest port in the world, and the most important trading place on the whole Arabian Gulf.”:

Historically, the port of Berbera was controlled indigenously between the mercantile Reer Ahmed Nur and Reer Yunis Nuh sub-clans of the Habar Awal. In the year 1845, the two brotherly sub-clans had a dissension over the control of the trade of Berbera, which lead to a wider altercation in which each side sought outside support. With the backing of Haji Sharmarke Ali Saleh, the Reer Ahmed Nuh drove out their kinsmen and declared themselves the sole commercial masters of Berbera. The defeated Reer Yunis Nuh moved westwards and established the port of Bulhar, which later became a trading rival to Berbera^[19][20]

Berbera commanded most of the trade traffic with the Somali and Ethiopian interiors. The two main caravan trade routes from Berbera extended to Harar and Shewa in the west, and to the Shebelle basin in the south. The westerly trade route was dominated by Habar Awal merchants, where they procured various goods such as coffee, saffron, ivory, and ostrich feathers. On the other hand, the southerly trade route was shared between Garhajis and Habar Awal merchants, where they obtained livestock, acacia gum, myrrh, grain and ghee. The inland caravan trade routes were also concurrently used as pilgrim routes by Somali Hajj pilgrims who resided in the deep interior.^[21][22]

According to Richard Francis Burton, who visited both Berbera and Harar during his travels, he repeated a famous Harari saying he heard in 1854:

The British explorer Richard Burton made two visits to this port, and his second visit was marred by an attack on his camp by a group of Somali warriors belonging to Habar Awal clan, and although Burton was able to escape to Aden, one of his companions was killed.^[26] Burton, recognizing the importance of the port city wrote:

British Somaliland

In 1888, after signing successive treaties with the various Sultans of the Isaaq's Clans, the British established a protectorate in the region referred to as British Somaliland.^[28] The British garrisoned the protectorate from Aden and administered it from their British India colony until 1898. British Somaliland was then administered by the Foreign Office until 1905 and afterwards by the Colonial Office.

Despite Berbera's strategic location, being the only port with a sheltered harbor on the southern side of the Gulf of Aden (the gateway to the Suez Canal), the British later came to regret their nominal control of the region. In fact, Winston Churchill once visited Berbera in 1907 when he was Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies, and he noted the protectorate be abandoned, since it was "unproductive, inhospitable, and the people are very hostile to occupation."^[29] The stated purposes of the establishment of the protectorate were to "secure a supply market, check the traffic in slaves, and to exclude the interference of foreign powers." ^[30] The British principally viewed the protectorate as a source for supplies of meat for their British Indian outpost in Aden through the maintenance of order in the coastal areas and protection of the caravan routes from the interior.^[31][32] Colonial administration during this period did not extend administrative infrastructure beyond the coast,^[33] and contrasted with the more interventionist colonial experience of Italian Somalia.^[34] However, there were plans in the early days of the protectorate to invest in major infrastructure projects, such as the abandoned Berbera-Harar Railway initiative.^[35]

In August 1940, during the East African Campaign, British Somaliland was briefly occupied by Italy after a large invasion force defeated British colonial troops at the Battle of Tug Argan. During this period, the British rounded up soldiers and governmental officials to evacuate them from the territory through Berbera. In total, 7,000 people, including civilians, were evacuated.^[36] The Somalis serving in the Somaliland Camel Corps were given the choice of evacuation or disbandment; the majority chose to remain and were allowed to retain their arms.^[37] In March 1941, the British forces recaptured the protectorate during Operation Appearance after a six-month occupation. The first WW2 Australian POWs were taken hostage here in 1940.

The British Somaliland protectorate gained its independence on 26 June 1960 as the State of Somaliland,^[38][39] before uniting as planned five days later with the Trust Territory of Somalia (the former Italian Somalia) to form the Somali Republic.^[7][38]

Modern

In the post-independence period, Berbera was administered as the part of the North-Western province of the Somali Republic. After the collapse of the Somali central government and the ouster of the Dictatorship of General Siad Barre in 1991, the Somali National Movement (SNM), which was an insurgent movement fighting to remove the yoke of the Barre's dictatorship from the Northern region of the Somali Republic, declared the national independence of Somaliland Republic. A slow process of infrastructural reconstruction subsequently began in Berbera and other towns in the region.

Geography

Location and habitat

Berbera is located in coastal region of Somaliland Republic. An old port city, it has the only sheltered harbour on the southern side of the Gulf of Aden. The landscape around town, along with Somaliland's coastal lowlands, is semi-arid land.

Popular local beaches, such as Bathela and Batalale, have earned the city the nickname Beach City.

Climate

Berbera features a hot desert climate (Köppen climate classification BWh). It has long, very hot summers and short, hot winters, as well as very little rainfall. Average high temperatures consistently exceed {{convert|40|°C}} (104 °F) during nearly four months of summertime (June, July, August and September). Daytime heat on summer nights is high, with average low temperatures of around {{convert|30|°C}} (86 °F). During the coolest months of the year, average high temperatures remain above {{convert|29|°C}} (84.2 °F) and average low temperatures also surpass {{convert|20|°C}} (68 °F). Although precipitation is low, the relative humidity is very high throughout the year and the atmosphere is simultaneously moist. The combination of the desert heat and the excessive moisture make apparent temperatures reach extremely high levels. Annual average rainfall is minimal, with only {{convert|52|mm|abbr=off}} (2.05 in) of precipitation. There are between 5 and 8 rainy days on average annually. Bright sunshine likely occur during about 84% of the total daytime hours and average annual cloudiness is very low.

Demographics

Education

There are 10 primary schools operating in Berbera city totaling 3,641 students. The broader Berbera district has 49 schools serving 6,310 students.^[44]

Economy

A number of products are exported through the Port of Berbera, including livestock, gum arabic, frankincense, and myrrh. Its seaborne trade is chiefly with Jeddah in Saudi Arabia, and Aden in Yemen, {{convert|240|km|abbr=off}} to the north.^[45] Additionally, goods from Ethiopia are also exported through the facility.^[46] The seaside boasts watersport tourist activity such as scuba diving, snorkeling, surfing and coral reefs.^[47]

Transportation

Berbera is the terminus of roads from Hargeisa and Burco. The city has one of Somaliland's major class seaports, the Port of Berbera.^[48] It historically served as a naval and missile base for the Somali government. Following a 1972 agreement between the Siad Barre administration and the USSR, the port's facilities were patronized by the Soviets.^[49] The Berbera seaport was later expanded for U.S. military use, after the Somali authorities strengthened ties with the American government.^[50]

For air transportation, the city is served by the Berbera Airport. It has an extensive {{convert|4,140|m|adj=on|abbr=off}} runway.^[51]

References

External links

• Berbera - Coordinates

• 7328 Casanova
• 7329 Bettadotto
• 732d Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron
• 732d Airlift Squadron (United States)
• 732d Troop Carrier Squadron
• 732 EFS/DET-3
• 732 ESFS/DET-3
• 732nd Airlift Squadron
• 732nd Bombardment Squadron
• 7330 Annelemaitre
• 7330 Annelemaître
• 7331 Balindblad
• 7332 Ponrepo
• 7333 Bec-Borsenberger
• 73342 Guyunusa
• 7334 Sciurus
• 7336 Saunders
• 733d Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron
• 733d Bombardment Squadron
• 733d Troop Carrier Squadron
• 733 in Ireland
• 733rd Military Airlift Squadron
• 7342 Uchinoura
• 7343 Ockeghem
• 73442 Feruglio