History of Somalia
You just have to look at a map of the world to see the wonderful geo-location of Somalia making it an idea centre for trade between Africa and the far east. Indeed between the seventh and tenth centuries immigrant Muslim and Persians established trading posts in what is now Somalia, and the capital Mogadishu began its status as a trading station. Mogadishu developed as a town then city and many of its citizens became very wealthy. During the Middle Ages, several powerful Somali empires dominated the regional trade, including the Warsangali Sultanate, the Ajuuraan State, the Sultanate of Adal and the Gobroon Dynasty.
Somalia has a rich sea faring history, and is home of the ancient kingdom of Punt. Between 1896 and 1920 it was known as the Dervish State and it became an ally of the German empire during the first world war. In 1920 it was defeated by the British and areas of it became a British protectorate, although the entire country was never formally colonised. Italy too acquired parts of what is now Somalia, and following the countries independence in 1960, the two became one as the Somali Democratic Republic.
In 1969 a coup installed Mohamed Siad Barre as president, and, although a harsh socialist regime then ruled the country until it's collapse in 1991, many improvements were made to the country, particularly in the field of literacy.
However in that year armed and supported by Ethiopia, clans from across Somalia brought down the governing regime, and this civil war badly affected food distribution, leaving an estimated third of a million people dead. Since that time the country has been in almost perpetual conflict with no real rule of any government. Even the United Nations withdrew, considering the area too unsafe to operate in.
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