Colonial Chaos in the Southern Red Sea
A History of Violence from 1830 to the Twentieth Century

Shedding light on the historical origins of violence, trafficking, piracy and civil unrest in Somalia, Yemen and Djibouti.

Nicholas W. Stephenson Smith (Author)

9781108845663, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 29 July 2021

256 pages
23.4 x 15.8 x 1.8 cm, 0.521 kg

'The book is a welcome contribution to the growing field of studies of the western Indian Ocean world, offering an important scholarly interpretation for those intrested in the history and politics of the Red Sea region viewed through a transnational lens and maritime law.' Nicholas W. Stephenson Smith, Historical Review

Today, the countries bordering the Red Sea are riven with instability. Why are the region's contemporary problems so persistent and interlinked? Through the stories of three compelling characters, Colonial Chaos sheds light on the unfurling of anarchy and violence during the colonial era. A noble Somali sultan, a cunning Yemeni militia leader, and a Machiavellian French merchant ran amok in the southern Red Sea in the nineteenth and twentieth century. In response to colonial hostility and gunboat diplomacy, they attacked shipwrecks, launched piratical attacks, and traded arms, slaves, and drugs. Their actions contributed to the transformation of the region's international relations, redrew the political map, upended its diplomatic culture, and remodelled its traditions of maritime law, sowing the seeds of future unrest. Colonisation created chaos in the southern Red Sea. Colonial Chaos offers an interdisciplinary approach to understanding the relationship between the region's colonial past and its contemporary instability.

Introduction
1. Sultan Uthman's Salvage Agreements
2. The Beginning of the End of Diplomacy
3. The New Rules of International Engagement
4. Undercover Colonialism, Coups, and Chaos
Conclusion
Appendix.

Subject Areas: International relations [JPS], 20th century history: c 1900 to c 2000 [HBLW], Modern history to 20th century: c 1700 to c 1900 [HBLL], African history [HBJH], Middle Eastern history [HBJF1]