 The Sultanate of Adal disintegrated into small independent states, many of which were ruled by Somali chiefs.The British Somaliland protectorate was initially ruled from British India (though later on by the Foreign Office and Colonial Office), and was to play the role of increasing the British Empire's control of the vital Bab-el-Mandeb strait which provided security to the Suez Canal and safety for the Empire's vital naval routes through the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.Resentment against the British authorities grew