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

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. "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 in the Southern Red Sea 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 centuries. 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. This book offers an interdisciplinary approach to understanding the relationship between the region's colonial past and its contemporary instability"-- Provided by publisher Contents 9 Figures 10 Maps 11 Acknowledgements 13 Note on the Text 16 Dramatis Personae 26 Abbreviations 30 Introduction 33 1 Sultan Uthman’s Salvage Agreements 62 2 The Beginning of the End of Diplomacy 103 3 The New Rules of International Engagement 130 4 Undercover Colonialism, Coups and Chaos 159 Conclusion 193 Appendix 210 Bibliography 219 Index 251