Modern History
In 1820, Egypt’s Pasha Mohammed Ali conquered the Sudan, setting up permanent headquarters in Khartoum. By 1876, Sudan effectively became a southern province of Egypt.
Foreign occupation brought radical change: the country was united, limiting the autonomy of various small governments; the introduction of foreign religious rites upset established religious communities; slavery was abolished (under British pressure), undermining the influence of powerful slave dealers; and the burden of heavy taxes for framers and cattle raisers contributed to a general atmosphere of discontent.
The situation led to the emergence of a charismatic religious leader. In 1881, Mohammed Ahmad proclaimed himself Mahdi and launched an effort to free Sudan from foreign (ie. Egyptian) domination, and save Islam from European (ie. British) colonialism. In 1885 he occupied Khartoum, killed General Gordon (the governor-general of Sudan) and kicked out the British and Egyptians.
After the Mahdi died from typhus, he was replaced by Abdullah Ibn Mohammed, who was appointed Caliph. He established the first Sudanese national government (a military Islamic state in keeping with the early traditions of the caliphate) which lasted 13 years, until the British returned to exact their revenge.
The British saw the existence of an independent Sudan as a threat to its aspirations to unite all the territory from Cairo to Cape Town under their rule. The French and Egyptians also had colonial designs on Sudan. In 1898 Lord Herbert Kitchener, commander in chief of the Egyptian army, mowed down the Caliph’s forces at Omdurman with artillery and machine-gun fire.
The victory restored the control of Britain and Egypt, who jointly administered Sudan from 1899-1956. The victorious army at Omdurman was mainly composed of Egyptian troops, but led by senior British officers.
Although sovereignty in Sudan was shared by the British crown and the khedive (the king of Egypt), it was the British Empire that formulated policies and supplied most of the top administrators to run the country.
Eventually, cooperation between Britain and Egypt would falter as the latter sought to incorporate Sudan. When Lee Stack, Britain’s governor-general in Sudan, was assassinated in Cairo, Britain used this as a pretext to withdraw all Egyptian forces. For 12 years (1924-1936), Britain ruled Sudan alone.
Egypt sought to achieve unity of the Nile by joining Cairo and Khartoum politically, but Britain was determined to prevent this. The British Empire threatened to grant “federated independence” to the southern population, who were animists and Christians, but not the Arabic and Muslim north. To make this effective, the British started a policy of “closed districts,” which prevented any contact between the north and south.
On 12 February 1953, Britain and Egypt signed an accord which would end the condominium arrangement and grant Sudan self-government within three years. The agreement also provided for a senate for Sudan, a Council of Ministers and a House of Representatives, elections to which were to be supervised by an international commission.
The elections, held in November and December 1953, resulted in victory for the National Unionist Party. Its leader, Ismail al-Aihari, became Sudan’s first prime minister in January 1954. The replacement of British and Egyptian officers in the Sudanese civil service by Sudanese nationals quickly followed.
On 19 December 1955, the Parliament voted unanimously that Sudan should become “a fully independent sovereign state.” British and Egyptian troops left the country on 1 January 1956. However, five months before Sudan declared independence, the south broke out in mutiny, riot and violent loss of life which would culminate in civil war.
The southerners claimed that they had been politically marginalised by the political arrangements in the north of the country, and they feared that they would be dominated by the more numerous Muslim Arabs.
References:
L.A. Fabunmi, The Sudan in Anglo-Egyptian Relations: A Case Study in Power Politics 1800-1956 (London: Longmans 1960)
The World Guide: An Alternative Reference to the Countries on our Planet 2001/2002 (Oxford: New Internationalist Publications 2001)
Websites:
Sudan.net
Historyworld.net