sudan Flashcards
khalifa abdullah
mahdist revolt against eyptian government had left the area in a weakened state
khalifa abdullah, who had succeeded the mahdi on his death the same year, had tried to bring the people of the sudan together under his leadership but his state was plagued by war from internal resistance fighters, disease and famine.
lord salisbury
gladstone had always intended that british troops should be withdrawn from egypt as soon as it was safe to do this
salisbury, who became prime minister in 1885, believed that egypt was vital to the security of britain’s sea-route to India, hence salisbury’s concern to reconquer at least parts of the sudan
worried by the interest which other european nations were showing in africa.
concerned about french and german expansion inland in east africa, fearing they might try to gain control of the headwaters of the nile which were vital for the welfare of egypt.
salisbury signed a treaty with the germans in 1890 whereby they agreed to take tanganyika while the british took kenya and uganda.
french were persuaded to concentrate on west africa, although they were not entirely appeased
adowa
1896
italian expansion on the red sea coast at massawa was regarded as beneficial by the British, since it diverted the khalifa’s attention from the egyptian borders, but when italian forces were defeated at adowa in 1896, whilst trying to seize abyssinia, this diversionary help was lost
gave salisbury the excuse he needed for a british campaign in the sudan -it could be sold to the public as a campaign to aid italy and uphold european civilisation against african barbarianism.
such a campaign was also welcomed as an opportunity to avenge the death of general gordon
dervish attacks
a railway was constructed in the heart of dervish territory
dervish - a member of muslim order, committed to the defence of their faith through frenzied attack
lord kitchener, fashoda and omdurman
kitchener was given orders to penetrate sudanese territory far as dongola; but he was determined to go further, take khartoum
and conquer the whole region.
recruited additional volunteer force imbued with imperialist fervour, he won a resounding success at the battle of omdurman in 1898.
not quite the end of the campaign - given sealed orders by salisbury to open after defeating the sudanes - these ordered him to go to fashoda where a french expedition under major marchand had arrived.
both pressed their nation’s claims to the area (accusing the other of trespassing) but the meeting was not particularly fiery - british press, reacted strongly to the incident’ suggesting that britain and france were on the brink of war.
french government, facing internal problems and aware of the british army in the sudan, chose to back down.
by an agreement of 1899, the french promised to stay out of the nile
valley in return for territory further west.
condominium
1899
between britain and egypt
anglo egyptian sudan was established
sudan run by the british with egyptian support
