In 1889 the Italians colonised the south of the territory which is now Somalia. This area became known as Italian Somaliland.
Somalilandsun: Italian Somalia was a colony under Italian control from the late 1880s until 1942 in the north-east of what is today the nation of Somalia. Italian settlement in the colony was encouraged and it was from its territories in Eritrea and Somalia that Italy launched the First Italo-Abyssinian War against Ethiopia in 1895. In 1936, after the Second Italo-Abyssian War, Italian Somalia became part of Italian East Africa, which also included Ethiopia and Eritrea. Later, in 1940, Italy successfully conquered British Somaliland and annexed it to Italian Somalia. An Allied counter-offensive saw Italy loose all its East African colonies in 1942. Italian Somalia was under British administration until 1949 when it became a United Nations Trust Territory under Italian administration until it received independence in 1960. Continue Reading
