Obock

Origins

In 1862 French agents bought the anchorage of Obock on the northern shore of the Gulf of Tadjoura from local Afar rulers for 10,000 thalers. France had little use for it until the 1880s, when the opening of the Suez Canal and Britain's refusal to coal French ships at Aden made a French base necessary.

Rule and society

In 1884 Leonce Lagarde became commandant and expanded French influence by treaties with the Sultanate of Tadjoura and Issa Somali clans. Obock served as a coaling and supply station for French ships bound for Indochina and Madagascar. Its harbour was poor, and its trade was small.

Decline and legacy

Lagarde founded Djibouti across the gulf in 1888, which offered a better port and access to the Ethiopian trade. In 1896 the capital moved there and Obock became part of French Somaliland.