The treaty for land possession included two agreements elaborated by the Duke himself: the patto (pact) and the vincolo (commitment). The first stated that Somalis contributed via their manpower to the hydraulic works along the Uebi‐Scebeli river. The controlled flow rate guaranteed advantages for the villages located both within and outside the reclaimed lands. This statement justified the existence of the patto. The vincolo specified that those who signed the agreement with the society could not sign similar treaties with other companies.

With this provision, the SAIS became the exclusive recipient of the lands, acquiring approximately 30,000 hectares for the duration of the treaty, enabling it to plan its activities on a long‐term basis.³⁴ In addition to these agreements, Luigi Amedeo of Savoia‐Aosta reinforced the rights of the SAIS regarding the territories located on the left bank of the Uebi‐Shebeli by acquiring those lands directly from the Somalis. This was another innovation by the SAIS, which became the new owner of 16,000 hectares previously the property of 20,000 Somalis.³⁵

These aspects impacted on colonial Somalia: through the SAIS’s work, traditional agriculture, based on a subsistence farming system, turned into large‐scale farming production,³⁶ which until then was totally unknown to Somali farmers. Although the land agreements were considered the best and the most convenient solution for the local population, who remained the owners of the land,³⁷ they entailed significant limitations for the Somalis.

Thus, the contract has been defined as both promoting slavery and paternalistic,³⁸ and has been harshly criticized by historians such as Angelo Del Boca, who affirmed how Somalis were forced to stay and work in the territories ceded to the company, even after the initial works had ended.³⁹

(Emphasis added.)