Wituland (also Witu, Vitu, Witu Protectorate or Swahililand) was a territory of approximately in
East Africa
East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territories make up Eastern Africa:
Due to the historica ...
centered on the town of
Witu just inland from
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by ...
port of
Lamu
Lamu or Lamu Town is a small town on Lamu Island, which in turn is a part of the Lamu Archipelago in Kenya. Situated by road northeast of Mombasa that ends at Mokowe Jetty, from where the sea channel has to be crossed to reach Lamu Island ...
north of the mouth of the
Tana River in what is now
Kenya
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, capital = Nairobi
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, largest_city = Nairobi
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.
History
Establishment of the Witu Sultanate
Founded in the 1810s and then becoming fully independent from nominal
Pate
Pate, pâté, or paté may refer to:
Foods Pâté 'pastry'
* Pâté, various French meat forcemeat pies or loaves
* Pâté haïtien or Haitian patty, a meat-filled puff pastry dish
* ''Pate'' or ''paté'' (anglicized spellings), the Virgin Isla ...
rule in 1858 after several abortive moves to the mainland, the native
sultanate of Wituland was a haven for
slaves fleeing the
Zanzibar slave trade
Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...
and thus a target of attacks from the Sultanate of
Zanzibar (ruled by a branch of the
Oman
Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is situated on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and spans the mouth of ...
i dynasty, under British protectorate).
Facing an increase in slaving raids from the Sultanate of Zanzibar, the Sultan of Witu formally requested German protection so that he "finally has relief from the attacks of Zanzibar warriors."
[German Wituland, a colonial rarity](_blank)
/ref>
Witu Relations with the Geledi Sultanate
The Geledi Sultanate was a powerful Somali state based in the inter-riverine region in southern Somalia
Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constitut ...
that held sway over the Jubba and Shabelle rivers. Witu Sultans had strong ties with Sultan Yusuf Mahamud Ibrahim as both states were mutually antagonistic towards Zanzibar and had shared commercial interests. On the island of Siyu the Sultan of Witu Bwana Mataka had been faced with an insurrection and was deposed in the 1820s. The defiant islanders alongside some Somalis
The Somalis ( so, Soomaalida 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒆𐒖, ar, صوماليون) are an ethnic group native to the Horn of Africa who share a common ancestry, culture and history. The Lowland East Cushitic Somali language is the shared ...
who were more loyal to the prior administration called for Omani occupation of the island. Yusuf would intervene and Witu would prove victorious as it would bring the Sultan to engage a newly emerging militant group in Bardera which was a key trade hub and where the Siyu Somalis drew their strength. Both states were interested in ivory trade through the Jubba river continuing to flourish as a great source of revenue for the region. Later following their victory at Siyu over the militant Somalis and Omani sympathisers the Witu Sultan sent aid before Yusuf engaged and ultimately lost against the Omani aligned Bimaals in 1848 at the Battle of Adaddey Suleyman.
German Protectorate (1885–90)
In 1885, the German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
brothers Clemens and Gustav Denhardt negotiated a treaty with Ahmed ibn Fumo Bakari, the first '' mfalme'' ( Swahili for sultan
Sultan (; ar, سلطان ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it c ...
or king) of Witu who ceded, on 8 April 1885, 25 square miles of territory to the brothers' "Tana Company", and the remainder of the Wituland became the German Protectorate
A protectorate, in the context of international relations, is a state that is under protection by another state for defence against aggression and other violations of law. It is a dependent territory that enjoys autonomy over most of its in ...
of Wituland (''Deutsch-Witu'') on 27 May 1885. The Reich was represented there by the German Residents: Gustav Denhardt (1856–1917; in office 8 April 1885 – 1 July 1890) and his deputy Clemens Andreas Denhardt (1852–1928).
German rule was relatively mild, and the territory continued being a haven for escaped slaves.
In 1889, Wituland issued a number of postage stamp
A postage stamp is a small piece of paper issued by a post office, postal administration, or other authorized vendors to customers who pay postage (the cost involved in moving, insuring, or registering mail), who then affix the stamp to the f ...
s although their postal usage has not been verified.
British Rule and the Witu Expeditions
In accord with the 1890 Heligoland–Zanzibar Treaty, on 18 June 1890 a British protectorate was declared, and on 1 July 1890 imperial Germany renounced its protectorate, ceding the Wituland to Great Britain
Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It ...
and becoming part of British East Africa. There were widespread protests from the inhabitants of the territory, who wished to remain under Germany's protection.
First Expedition (1890)
Shortly afterwards several German merchants were murdered, and a mixed British & Zanzibari punitive expedition was sent out. The troops landed and descended on Witu on October 26, 1890. After a series of shoot-outs, Sultan ''Fumo Bakari ibn Ahmad'' fled from the town, with roughly 3,000 of his remaining gunmen. He was deposed by the British and died soon afterwards.
After a short reign by ''Bwana Shaykh ibn Ahmad'', the rulership (now reduced to a shaykhdom and made a vassal of the Zanzibar Sultanate) was given to Fumo `Umar ibn Ahamd. Slavery was also formally abolished in Witu, in March 1891, and Indian police were brought in to enforce the new agreement.
Second Expedition (1893)
A brother of Fumo Bakari, by the name of Fumo Oman, resisted the new regime and began leading increasingly violent raids on villages and farms around the nearby town of Jongeni, northeast of Witu. A brief attempt at diplomacy failed, and the British and Zanzibari governments prepared a second naval expedition to sail to Witu.
A small expeditionary force landed at Witu in July and a second request to negotiate was sent to Fumo Oman. It was rejected and the marines marched on the principal towns under rebel control. Thick forest and camouflaged pits with sharpened stakes surrounded the strongly fortified towns, and the rebel gunmen had prepared defensive positions that allowed for heavy fire. However, after prolonged and intense shoot-outs, the naval marines fought their way into each town, and destroyed the fortifications. Fumo Oman fled and Fumo 'Umari bin Hamid was reinstated.
Fumo 'Umari moved the capital to Jongeni, but the growth of British power and of the regional importance of Zanzibar saw Witu's position and influence gradually decline.
End of Witu
In 1905 oversight for Witu was moved from the Foreign Office to the Colonial Office. From then Witu was administrated as a part of Tana District of the Kenya Coast Protectorate. Since the 1923 death of Umari bin Hamid the question of Witu as an entity of its own was finally closed.
List of rulers
The known ruling Sultans (styled ''mfalume'' in Swahili) are:
*1810s-1848: Bwana Mataka
*1848- 1858: Mohammed Sheikh (son of Bwana Mataka)
*1858–1888: Ahmad ibn Fumo Bakari
*1888–1890: Fumo Bakari ibn Ahmad
*1890–1891: Bwana Shaykh ibn Ahmad
*1891–1893: Fumo `Umar ibn Ahmad (1st time)
*1893 – 7 July 1895: ''Vacant''
*7 July 1895 – 1923: Fumo `Umar ibn Ahmad (2nd time)
See also
*Pate
Pate, pâté, or paté may refer to:
Foods Pâté 'pastry'
* Pâté, various French meat forcemeat pies or loaves
* Pâté haïtien or Haitian patty, a meat-filled puff pastry dish
* ''Pate'' or ''paté'' (anglicized spellings), the Virgin Isla ...
*Lamu
Lamu or Lamu Town is a small town on Lamu Island, which in turn is a part of the Lamu Archipelago in Kenya. Situated by road northeast of Mombasa that ends at Mokowe Jetty, from where the sea channel has to be crossed to reach Lamu Island ...
* Zanzibar
* Yusuf Mahamud Ibrahim
* Sultanate of the Geledi
Notes
External links
German Wituland, a colonial rarity
(archived link)
{{coord missing, Kenya
Lamu County
Former German colonies
History of German East Africa
Former British colonies and protectorates in Africa
German colonisation in Africa
History of Kenya
Former sultanates
States and territories established in 1858
Former countries in Africa
1890 establishments in the British Empire