Day 99: Giving Somalia A Very Wide Berth

Today, April 13th, we're continuing to head south towards the equator and ultimately the Seychelles Islands, maintaining a comfortable 300-500 miles distance from Somalia. It's a country best known for being the location of "Black Hawk Down" (the Mogadishu War of October 1993) and for having numerous pirates sailing the offshore waters, preying on unsuspecting boats. Although it's not officially confirmed, we believe there are two former special services personnel currently on board who will stay with us until we clear the West Coast of Africa in early May. 

That all set me thinking: What do we
actually know about Somalia other than that it is a dangerous place? Americans (and Brits) are advised NOT to travel anywhere near the country. So here is a quick executive summary on Somalia so you can amaze your friends and win at trivia based on your knowledge of this country shaped like a "seven." One interesting fact that jumped out is that Somalia actually has the longest coastline of any country in Africa. 

This area was one of the very first to be settled by humans millennia ago. During the Stone Age (up until 4000 BC), the Doian and Hargeisan cultures flourished here. The oldest evidence of burial customs in the Horn of Africa comes from cemeteries dating back to the 4th millennium BC. Ancient pyramidal structures, mausoleums, ruined cities, and stone walls are evidence of an old civilization that once thrived in the Somali peninsula. This civilization enjoyed a trading relationship with ancient Egypt and Mycenaean Greece since 2000 BC, and the ruling class, the Macrobians, were known for their longevity and wealth. They shackled their prisoners in gold chains just to make a point. It's also likely that this is where the camel was first domesticated. Two thousand years later, the area was still known for trade and teamed up with the Romans and Arabs from the Persian Gulf to restrict trade with India. They cut a deal with the Indian merchants to continue bringing in cinnamon and other spices but to label them as "Somalian." This deception continued for decades.

Islam arrived in the 700s, and all was well for a few more hundred years until a series of wars broke out with neighboring countries, most notably Abyssinia (now Ethiopia). Various kings and sultans claimed assorted parts of Somalia, and the country was mostly reunited under the Isaaq clans. Then, in the late 1800s, "The Scramble For Africa" occurred, and up popped the Italians and the Brits. Both countries tried to establish protectorates without great success, and the area was the relocation of multiple humiliating defeats for the British Army by the infamous "Whirling Dervishes." Eventually, new technology was applied, and in 1920 the British used air power to ultimately crush the rebellious tribes. 

Italy took charge, and Mussolini invaded Ethiopia for Somalia in 1935. The expansion continued into 1936, and in 1940, Italian forces invaded what was left of British Somaliland. In early 1941, the Brits counter-attacked from a base in neighboring Kenya and "liberated" the area. The next twenty years were a mess until all of Somalia was reunited and given independence in 1960. There was a coup in 1969, and the country fell into a prolonged civil war. The country remained in disarray until 2012 when a new Federal Government came into power, and the political situation has been stable (relatively speaking) since then.

The country remains on the "DO NOT VISIT" list for Americans and Europeans, and its economy is ranked 181st out of approximately 206 countries globally.  The UN uses a metric called HDI - Human Development Index, which measures life expectancy, infant mortality, GDP, poverty, and multiple other factors. Of the 193 countries it measures, Somalia is ... #193.