The three European powers in Somaliland often…

The three European powers in Somaliland often lack funds, but they nevertheless manage to establish the rudimentary organs of colonial administration.

Moreover, because they control the port outlets, they can levy taxes on livestock to obtain the necessary funds to administer their respective Somali territories.

In contrast, Ethiopia is largely a feudal state with a subsistence economy that requires its army of occupation to live off the land.

Thus, Ethiopian armies repeatedly despoil the Ogaden in the last two decades of the nineteenth century.