In 1967, French Somaliland became the French Territory of the Afars and Issas. To what did the country change its name on gaining independence in 1977?
French Territory of the Afars and the Issas French Territory of the Afars and the Issas The French Territory of the Afars and the Issas () was the name given to present-day Djibouti between 1967 and 1977, while it was still an overseas territory of France. The area was formerly known as French Somaliland (""). From 1862 until 1894, the land to the north of the Gulf of Tadjoura was called "Obock" and ruled by Somali and Afar Sultans, local authorities with whom France signed various treaties between 1883 and 1887 to gain a foothold in the region. In 1894, Léonce Lagarde established a permanent French administration in
French Somaliland the original company failed and required a government bail-out, the rail link allowed the territory to quickly supersede the caravan-based trade carried on at Zeila (then in the British area of Somaliland) and become the premier port for coffee and other goods leaving southern Ethiopia and the Ogaden through Harar. The railway continued to operate following the Italian conquest of Ethiopia but, following the tumult of the Second World War, the area became an overseas territory of France in 1946. In 1967, French Somaliland was renamed the French Territory of the Afars and the Issas and, in 1977, it became