Robert O. Collins

From the Publisher: Sudan's modern history has been consumed by revolution and civil war. The country attracted international attention in the 1990s as a breeding ground of Islamist terrorism and recently tensions between the prosperous center and the periphery, between north and south, have exploded in Darfur. In his latest book, Robert Collins, a frequent visitor and veteran scholar of the region, traces Sudan's history across two hundred years to show how many of the tragedies of today have been planted in its past. The story begins with the conquest of Muhammad 'Ali in 1821, and moves through the Anglo-Egyptian condominium to independence in 1956. It then focuses on Sudanese rule in the post-independence years when the fragile democracy established by the British collapsed under sectarian strife. It is these religious and ethnic divides, the author contends, in conjunction with failed leadership, which have prolonged and sustained the conflict in Sudan.

Conforming to the pattern established in Problems in African History, I have constructed seven "Problems" dealing with the partition, occupation, and administration of Africa by the European powers. As before, the appellation "Problems" refers not only to those topics which at present invoke controversy and conflicting interpretations, but also to those subjects which lend themselves to discussion and inquiry. I have made no attempt to present a narrative for Africa in the colonial period; that is the task of the instructor. - Preface.

The 24 essays in this volume show the imperial ambitions and colonial rule that shaped the foundations of African states of our day.

This book describes the Madhist invasions of the Southern Sudan, their success, and finally thier defeat by the forces of the Congo Free State.