The History of The Sudan

PRE INDEPENDENCE ERA

Prior to the Egyptian expedition to the Sudan in the modern era, the country was divided into different separated states .At the same period the colonial interests were focusing on the Sudan and started by discovery expeditions to prepare for the invasion of the Sudan, where James Bross discovered the Blue Nile source in Ethiopia in (1112 Higri –1770 AD). During this period there were three main kingdoms in the Sudan including the Islamic Fong kingdom, the Fur kingdom in Darfer and Tagaly kingdom in western Sudan. There were fighting, wars and conflicts between these three kingdoms.On the other side, Egypt in the north was working to establish a modern state under the leadership of Mohamed Ali Basha whose wars revealed to him his needs for larger resources to complete the establishment of the modern state. So he thought of the expansion to the south to invade the Sudan and discover the gold mines and diamonds in addition to recruitment of Sudanese men in the Egyptian army and to discover the Nile sources and make it secure.

The Egyptian expedition started in 1235higri -1820AD though the Egyptian army faced no resistance except in some parts on the north and in Kurdufan, in areas under the authority of Darfur sultanate and in Sinnar.

Mohamed Ali Basha appointed a governor general for the Sudan who had all the civil and military power and made Khartoum the capital of the Sudan. The number of the Egyptian army in the Sudan was raised to 15000 after two decades from the Egyptian invasion, and many Egyptian missions were sent to discover the Nile source.

During the era of Khidawy Ismail ibn Ibraheem some of the remote parts of the Sudan were invaded and in 1278 higri -1870 AD Charles George Gordon was appointed as the governor general of the Sudan.

After the Mahdist revolution in 1299 higri – 1881 AD the revolutionists were able to conquer the Sudan after the assassination of Gordon ,then Britain discovered that its interests requires the return of the Egyptian Army to the Sudan .A brigade of 10000 soldiers was formed under the leadership of the British Kitchener . This army invaded the Sudan by orders from Lord Cromer the high commissioner in Cairo. The Egyptian army defeated the Mahdist in many Battles in Farka and in Kararry, and then Kitchener invaded Khartoum and raised both the British and Egyptian flags. In the 19th of January 1899 the agreement of the condominium rule of the Sudan was signed by Cromer and the Egyptian foreign minister Botros Ghali stipulating the joint British and Egyptian Hegemony on the Sudan.

THE SUDANESE NATIONAL MOVEMENTS:The Mahdist movement under the leadership of Mohamed Ahmed Almahadi had a significant role in mobilizing the national passion and feelings of the Sudanese people. There were also some tribal and national movements at that time, but they were very weak and the connection between the Sudanese people themselves was also weak which made these movements loose their strength and ability to have an effect.

But the National People Movement was strengthening and affected by events in Egypt that took place after the first world war and the 1919 revolution .So for the first time in the Sudan the secret movements activities appeared, calling for revolution and demanding independence, this issue had spread among the Sudanese people. A new cultured and educated class of people emerged while a large number of the Sudanese people were affected by the patriotic feeling and belief which dominated the concept of every one and which was initiated by the Egyptians working in the Sudan who were affected by the 1919 revolution.

Meanwhile Britain worked to deepen the concept of the (Sudan for the Sudanese). In 1921 a secret association was formed named the Sudanese Union .Its members were the Students of Gordon college (now the University of Khartoum) which was under the administration of the colonialism, Meanwhile the white Brigade movement was formed and it was established by Ali Abdullatif, This movement played a vital role in the 1924 revolution while the national movement had called for unity with Egypt .On its side Britain called on its supporters from the tribal leaders to confront this movement .

Due to the violence practiced by the British expedition against the revolutionists and the terrorist methods of suppressing them, the Sudanese resort to the secret activities against colonialism and patriotism grew among the cultured class and was affected by different motives. Meanwhile the Egyptian army withdrew from Sudan for the second time in December 1924 AD after the assassination of sir le Stack, the governor general of the Sudan in Egypt, which sparkled a great unrest in the Sudan. In February 1938 AD the graduate’s congress was established comprising a great number of members from the cultured and educated people .It started its activities by providing social services then transferred to the political work and called on for the independence of the Sudan. Meanwhile, following the return of the Egyptian army to the Sudan, Britain worked for the issue of separating the Sudan from Egypt from one side and the separation of northern Sudan from its South from another side. The 1936 agreement between Egypt and Britain had focused on the condominium agreement which was signed in 1899 AD and stipulated that the governance of Sudan should remain shared between the two countries though Egypt tried to cancel this agreement and realize unity between the Sudan and Egypt. Long negotiations took place and then Egypt presented the case to the security council in 1947 AD which abstained from taking any decision then the Egyptian government from its side in the 8th of October 1951 repealed the 1936 agreement. The Egyptian July 1952 revolution was preceded by an Egyptian / British negotiations on the Sudanese affair and when the revolution erupted in the 23rd of July 1952 the Sudanese affair was decided to be separated from the issue of the British withdrawal from the Sues Canal in any negotiations between the two countries.

When the elections of the legislative council took place it was almost a fight for the future determination between the two big fronts (the National Unity Party and the Independence Front) and the result came by the winning of the unionists, after that Ismail Alazhari had formed the first Sudanese government and its task was summarized in three points the first one the sudanization of the army and the civil service and the organization of the future determination procedures and the withdrawal of the condominium army.

During this period the Republican independence party was established and many of the Sudanese started to call on for independence, where conciliation between the Mahdist leader Abdul Rahman Almahadi and the Khatmia leader Ali Almerghani took place. During that time the British broadcast announced the resignation of the Governor General of the Sudan and said no new governor will be appointed to replace him and then the Parliamentarian Association of the National Unity Party announced the formation of a committee to replace the Governor General of the Sudan and to carry all his responsibilities so that the Sudanese could elect a head of their state.

The Turkish Egyptian rule of the Sudan since 1820 was faced by struggle from all the Sudanese tribes in northern Sudan and from all the Nilotic tribes such as the Dainka and the Shuluk in southern Sudan which sparkled the activities of the Sudanese National Movement in Many parts of the Sudan. Facing the Turkish rule in all parts of the Sudan , and facing the slave trade specially in southern Sudan was part of the struggle and the refusal of the government system so, Alnuba mountain revolution, the Gihadia in Kassala in 1865, Haroon Alrasheed in Darfur, Subahi in Kurdufan and Sulieman Alzubair in Bahar Alghzal were all revolutions expressing the peoples refusal to the Turkish rule and also an introduction to the comprehensive revolution which is later became the Mahdist revolution.

Although the Mahdist revolution started in 1885 in Northern Sudan and was backed by western Sudan but it found a great support from the Noair tribes and the shuluk and Anwak in southern Sudan in addition to the tribes of Bahr Alghazal, a thing which affirmed that the Mahdist revolution was a national revolution and not a regional one.

In 1889 the condominium rule was faced by a violent struggle in Karma, Kararry and Umdibaikrat battles, which ended the Mahdist era. There were also struggles in the east, Algazira and the west while the south had witnessed disciplinary wars by the condominium army against the Noair tribe during 1902-1929 and against the Dinka tribe in 1907 – 1923, the latouka and Taboasa in 1916-1922 .All these events were followed by the 1924 revolution which represented an alliance between the elites from the military men, civilian and graduates from all the different tribes of the Sudan in the north and the South which gave it the national identity.

In 1938 the Graduates Congress was held and had focused all its activities on many policies and came out with different orientations and visions about making the congress a vocational trade union for the graduates or making it a charity association or a forum for the national activities. On their side the countries of the condominium rule tried to limit their relations with the graduates congress which led to the emergence of the political parties in the mid forties where United Parties supported by Egypt emerged and there were also other independent parties supported by Britain .In 1944 emerged the Communist Party as a secret movement under the name of the Sudanese Movement for National liberalization. In 1953 emerged the Anti Colonialism Front and the Muslim brothers movements from which emanate the Islamic socialist party.

Following world war two all the Sudanese parties agreed to unite and called on the Graduates Congress to fulfill their demand represented in the issuance of a joint permission from the condominium countries stipulating that their task is to form a democratic Sudanese government in unity with Egypt and an alliance with Britain and this document was signed by all the parties by which they informed the Governor General of the Sudan. Accordingly a delegation comprising representatives from all parties traveled to Cairo in 1946 to participate in the Egyptian /British negotiations but Egypt rejected their participation as a third party .The negotiations were concluded by issuing a protocol stipulating the realization of the Sudanese people welfare and to practically prepare them for the self rule within the context of unity between Egypt and the Sudan. As a result there were different reactions from the Sudanese political parties between agreement and disagreement to this while some were conservatives to this resolution. In 1948 the legislative Assembly was formed by the support of Britain and the opposition of the united parties and the Khatmia. Egypt then cancelled the 1899 agreement and the 1936 convention and Royal decrees were issued , joining the Sudan to Egypt.

Alazhari and Mahjoub drawing down the condominium flag and raising up the flag of the Sudan In 1952 the Mahdist and Khatmia became close together and sent a joint delegation to the United Nations in Paris informing them by the issue of holding a referendum regarding the future determination of the Sudan .The July revolution erupted In Egypt and recognized the right of the future determination of the Sudan .In February 1953 the Egyptian –British agreement on the right of the future determination was signed and in accordance to this agreement , elections were held to formulate the parliament and the interim government which realized the Sudanizaion and the withdrawal of the Egyptian and British troops which weakened the united party call and changed the concept of the leadership of the unionists towards the independence .then the nation will for independence was united and became stronger after the agreement of the southern parties to declare the independence from within the parliament .

THE INDEPENDENCE ANNOUNCEMENT:

The historical event which took place in January 1956 by drawing down the two flags of the condominium rule and raising the Sudanese flag instead was the fruit of a long struggle, heroism and patriotism, led by the leaders of the Sudan from the different tribes and ethnic groups.

THE HISTORICAL SESSION AND ANNOUMCEMENT OF INDEPENDENCE:

The historical events of the independence started by holding session No.32 of the parliament in its third round on Tuesday the 16th of August 1955, where Ismail Alazhari the Prime Minister and the Minister of Interior and Defense presented a note to the Governor General of the Sudan asking him to inform the condominium governments by the will of the Sudanese to start implementing the future determination measures immediately, this in accordance to article 9 from the agreement signed between the Egyptian government and the United Kingdom government and Northern Ireland in the 12th of February 1953.On Monday the 19the of December 1955 the parliament held its 43rd session of its third term where the member Abdulrahman Mohamed Ibrahim Daabaka from the Bagara tribe in western Nyala presented a suggestion on behalf of the Sudanese people and all the members of parliament announcing that the Sudan has become an independent state with its own complete sovereignty and asked the Governor General of the Sudan to call on the condominium states to recognise this declaration of independence immediately. This suggestion was approved by Mushawir Gomaa sahal from Dar Hamid tribe saying that this session is a an honor in the historical record of the Sudan and will be the line which ends the colonialism era from which Sudan suffered for 57 years and a new era for a total freedom and sovereignty of the Sudanese people.