Nassib Bundo and other rebel slaves and liberti of Gosha. A reassessment (1835-1906)

In the wake of the independence of Somalia, chief Nassib Bundo was listed among the heroes of the resistance against the colonizers, and most recently, he is mentioned as a forgotten king and freedom fighter of the Somali nation. This article aims to collate oral and written sources and to present the last years of the Yao chief by placing him in the juridical and social context of incipient abolition in the Western Indian Ocean. Freedman as he was, he took the chances offered by his status for trading, negotiating personal power, offering shelter to runaway slaves and to slaves manumitted by the Italian government, but was always cautious with the colonisers he did not trust. He frequently confounded their expectations and even attempted to join forces against them.