Durham E-Theses The Southern Sudan under British Rule 1898-1924 : the constraints reassessed. Mawut, Lazarus Leek How to cite: Mawut, Lazarus Leek (1995) The Southern Sudan under British Rule 1898-1924 : the constraints reassessed., Durham theses, Durham University. Available at Durham E-Theses Online: http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/971/ Use policy The full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-prot purposes provided that: • a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in Durham E-Theses • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. Please consult the full Durham E-Theses policy for further details. Academic Support Oce, Durham University, University Oce, Old Elvet, Durham DH1 3HP e-mail: [email protected] Tel: +44 0191 334 6107 http://etheses.dur.ac.uk 2 Abstract University of Durham Ph.D. 1995 THE SOUTHERN SUDAN UNDER BRITISH RULE 1898-1924: THE CONSTRAINTS REASSESSED bv Lazarus Leek Maiout Existing interpretations of modern Sudanesehistory have been much concerned with the disparity between North and South in the three key areas of civil administration, education, and economic development. The relatively slower development of the South has been seen as primarily a legacy of the early Anglo- Egyptian Condominium, and the result of several powerful constraints - physical, climatic, linguistic, financial; limited British interest in the region; local disorder and resistance; and the character of native tribal organisation. This thesis argues that although these constraints were important, in themselvesand collectively they do not provide a sufficient explanation. Each is extensively re-assessedusing evidence from the Sudan Archive in Durham, and it is shown that their impact upon the South's prospects for development needs careful qualification. Some did not prove to be obstacleswhen the government found reasonsto be sufficiently determined;some were not as serious as they may appear; some were deliberately exaggerated for administrative or military purposes; resistance was often provoked by insensitive officials. There had in fact been a long history of British interest in the region, shaped by humanitarian,religious, and economic concerns, sustainedfrom the 1890sby fear of revived Islamic militancy and intensified by the presence of French, Belgian and Ethiopian competitors in central Africa. It is argued that British policy in the Southern Sudan is best understood in terms of these factors, and especially of cultural preconceptions towards what were considered to be the primitive peoples of the area. Contrasts with policy in the North are especially instructive. The South suffered not so much from neglect by British officials as from their over-protectiveness. The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. No quotation from it should be published without his prior written consent and information derived from it should be acknowledged. The Southern Sudan Under British Rule 1898- 1924: The Constraints Reassessed by Lazarus Leek Mawut A thesis submitted for the Degree of Ph. D. in History to the Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Durham 1995 ii -I MAY1995 Contents Pa2e Preface iv Acknowledgements V Abbreviations vi Introduction 1 I: The Pre-Condominium Southern Sudan 15 1 The Pre-Turco-Egyptian Period 15 2 The Turco-Egyptian Period 17 3 The Mahdia 29 II: British Motives and Objectives in the Southern Sudan 37 III: Some.Inhibiting Factors - 56 (a) Knowledge of the Area 57 (b) Transport and Communications: 58 1 The Sudan-EthiopianFrontier 60 2 The Nile-Congo Divide 62 3 The Sudan-UgandaBorder 64 4 Connecting the Provinces 65 (c) The Language Problem 69 (d) British Manpower 71 IV: Resistance, Domestic Objectives and External Constraints in Eastern 79 Upper Nile and Western Nuer Land, 1898-1924 (a) Governors Matthews and Owen on Tribal Policy 79 (b) Revenue, Security and the Empire 86 (c) The Western Nuer Resistance, 1922-1924 98 V: Resistance:the Azande, Fertit, Dinka and the Inheritance from Uganda, 107 1900-1924 (a) The Azande Resistance, 1903-1905 107 (b) The Fertit Resistance, 1907-1912 114 (c) The Dinka Resistance 118 (d) Integrating the Inheritance from Uganda 131 VI: Securing the Southern Sudan Against Local Competitors 142 (a) Wingate's Islamic Policy 143 (b) The Equatorial Battalion: Its Origins and Objectives 151 VII: Highlights on Administration, Education and Economic Development 161 (a) Administration 162 (b) Education 170 (c) Economic Development 178 Conclusion 192 Appendices 209 Bibliography 229 Maps 237 iii Preface A correct reading of history enhances a people's appreciation of their present determination conditions and reinforces their to either continue to build upon past glories, or to correct past mistakes in order to ensure a better future. For these very reasons history can sometimes be falsified and manipulated by individuals or groups inspire with vested interest to or demoralise one group or the other. This is true of the Sudanesesituation. Today, contending Sudaneseparties peruse colonial documents and literature in order to find supporting evidence for their respective claims and allegations, as they struggle for political power and access to limited educational and economic opportunities. Northerners and Southerners alike try to wrap up these very clear objectives in often distorted but effective religious and cultural propaganda which whips up external sentiments of kin and co-religionists. One of the areas of concentrated researchby Sudanese,former British colonial officials, and non-Sudanese academics(whose objective reconstruction of the modern history of the Sudan stands out in sharp contrast), is the British policy in the Southern Sudan. Attention is specifically directed to discovering causes of the imbalance between the North and South in certain aspectsof development, and by extension, the interregional conflict in the country. Although there has been much work upon this subject, important aspects still require exploration if a comprehensive appreciation of the Sudanese colonial experienceis to be achieved. It is intended here to continue the search. Preliminary work on this project was undertaken in the Sudan while I was a postgraduate at the University of Khartoum. However, a brief visit in 1989 to Durham's Sudan Archive was enough to convince me that the chief documentary sources for the study I wished to undertake were located there. The University of Durham agreed that in view of my previous postgraduate work, I could be enrolled for researchtowards my Ph.D. on the basis of six terms of study. It took three years after that to find sufficient funds to commence my studies. This was eventually achieved in 1992, and this project was completed in Durham during the following two years. iv Acknmvledrements The invaluable work was accomplishedwith the assistanceand co-operation of a number of institutions and individuals. Sincere thanks are due to the Ford Hugh Pilkington Charitable Trust, Foundation and whose joint sponsorship enabled me I to undertake this research. owe thanks to the University of Juba for granting me a leave of absenceto pursue studies abroad, and to the Gordon Memorial Trust for their financial assistanceat the final stagesof the preparation of this work. I am indebted to my first supervisor, Ms D. Lavin, who made extensive behalf contacts on my with prospective sponsors, and introduced me to academicson the Sudan. Professor G.N. Sandersonacted as external advisor, and made many useful comments on my first draft. Special thanks are due to my supervisor, Dr Philip Williamson, who readily gave a great deal of his time to reading every bit of what I had written. His critical but indispensable comments helped me to shape some of my ideas about the subject. However, for any defects in the thesis, I, alone, am responsible. The assistanceoffered by the staff of the National Records Office in the Sudan, the Public Record Office in London, and the Library of the University of Durham is highly appreciated. I am particularly grateful to Ms L. Forbes, Head of the Oriental Section in the Library, and the staff of Palace Green Library, especially Ms J. Hogan of the Sudan Archive. I am thankful to Mrs Isabella Winder for granting me permission to quote from a restricted document from the papers of her late husband, John Winder of the Sudan Political Service. The assistancerendered by M. Johnson in the production of maps for the thesis is sincerely acknowledged. Thanks and appreciation are also due to Miss Thelma Ellison, who patiently typed the thesis from drafts which were sometimesdifficult to decipher. Finally, I am grateful to my friends with whom I stayed in London whenever I visited the PRO and my external advisor in Surrey. Their hospitality is treasured. Lazarus Leek Mawut V Abbreviations BGP Bahr al-Ghazal provincial files, in the Natural Records Of ice, Khartoum CivSec Civil Secretary'sfiles, Ibid. Equatoria Files of Equatoria and Mongalla Provinces, Ibid. Intel Intelligence Departments files of the Anglo-Egyptian Government, Ibid. JAH Journal of African History NRO National Records Office, Khartoum, Sudan. Palace Category of files in NRO, originally papers of the Governor-General's office. PRO Public Record Office, London. SAD Sudan Archive, Durham SIR Sudan Intelligence Reports, Khartoum and Durham. SNR Sudan Notes and Records. South Some documents on the Southern Sudan in NRO. UNP Upper Nile provincial files, Khartoum. vi The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. No quotation from it should be published without his prior consent and information derived from it should be acknowledged. it ,.. 1, . vii Introduction Existing interpretations of the modern history of the Sudan have been much concerned with the disparity between Southern and Northern Sudan in three key areas: civil administration, education and economic development.