Obock Territory

The Territory of Obock was a French colonial possession on the Gulf of Tadjoura, in what is now Djibouti. France acquired Obock in 1862, and the small port became the nucleus of French interests on the Horn of Africa. In 1884 Léonce Lagarde arrived as the territory's first commander and began to extend French control around the gulf, creating the Territory of Obock and Dependencies. The colony was administered from Obock until about 1895, when Lagarde moved the administrative centre across the gulf to Djibouti, which offered a better harbour and a position at the head of the railway to the interior. In 1896 the territory was reorganised as French Somaliland. Obock remained a minor port and coaling station, while Djibouti became the colony's capital and main outlet for Ethiopian trade. The earlier Obock period left a small but distinctive legacy of French administration, treaties with local Afar and Somali communities, and early colonial infrastructure on the northern shore of the gulf.