Throughout the years of European imperialization, the British and the Italians ruled to gain control of both resources and the advantages of the trading along the coast. Britain came to Somalia in order to gain control of the Suez Canal. They wanted to gain control of the Suez Canal because they wanted to make it easier to get to their most successful colony, India. They needed to gain control of Somalia in order to gain control of the exit point of the canal from the red sea.