When was djibouti founded

It is also the largest commercial center in the country because it has a large port. With the port, fishing in the city has developed and created business opportunities. Long tourist beaches are located on the eastern shores of Djibouti city. On June 27, , the Republic of Djibouti declared independence from France. Muslim Somalis and Afars, who migrated from the Arabian Peninsula some 1, years ago, settled in Djibouti.

Founded in as a port city by the Spanish Eloi Pino, Djibouti became the capital of French Somaliland in instead of Tadjourah. Djibouti, the capital of this state for many years, became the capital of independent Djibouti. This calm balance depends on Djibouti being a single-party state, with the jobs shared out among an exclusive political elite.

Hassan Aptidon, an Issa, is the main beneficiary of this oligarchic system, being elected president on independence in and then re-elected for successive terms ever since. FRUD launches a civil war in , but in a peace treaty is agreed. FRUD forces are to be integrated in the army. Presidential elections were held in March Five candidates contested the elections for president.

FRUD gained control of some areas of the north and west. In February , France deployed forces in Djibouti, and the Afars declared unilaterally a cease-fire.

Rebel bases in the north were occupied, and many opposition leaders were imprisoned, including Ali Aref Bourhan, for an alleged coup attempt.

He was released in December In , the FRUD suffered severe losses to a government offensive. In , its leadership split over the issue of negotiations with the government. A more moderate wing then entered into negotiations and called a cease-fire.

In March , in compliance with the peace accords signed in December , the majority of the FRUD disarmed, and the military integrated a segment of the insurgents into its ranks. Two FRUD leaders accepted ministerial posts. Journalists have also been harassed, intimidated, and detained. Gouled became ill in December and spent several months in hospital in France. During this period there appeared a succession struggle between Ismael Omar Guelleh and Ismael Godi Hared, both close advisors of the president.

Through close contacts with the Arabian Peninsula for more than 1, years, the Somali and Afar tribes in this region became the first on the African continent to adopt Islam. The area of Djibouti was once used by nomadic tribes who raised livestock. The Afars of eastern Ethiopia and the Issas of Somalia were the earliest tribes in the region.

Archaeological investigation in the west and north confirm settlement of this area by Oromo and other Cushitic peoples now dwelling in Ethiopia. Islamic communities that developed in the lowlands of the Horn of Africa likely supplied troops to conflicts between the Islamic lowlands and the Christian highlands of Ethiopia.

Nearly all of the geographic names in Djibouti are of Afar origin, suggesting their lengthy presence in the region. Issa-Somali ethnic expansion into the Horn has been studied extensively, but little is known about the confrontation between the Afars and the Issas who spread north into Djibouti. Prior to French colonial rule, the area was sparsely populated with only a few trade routes.