The History of South Sudan

Scenes inside Dambacha fort after being captured by patriots of the emperor and Sudanese troops. Troop, patriots of the emperor and Sudanese guarding the fort after they captured it in May 1931. (AP Photo)

1805 - 1899

Egyptian Conquest & British Colonization

The area comprising present day Sudan and South Sudan was subject to conquest and colonization for millenia. In the early 16th century, the Ottoman Empire and Punj Sultanate conquered much of the Nubian Empire. Historians point to the reign of Muhammed Ali of Egypt as a key turning point in the Sudanese slave trade.

The region was invaded in 1820 by Mohammed Ali and plundered for people who would be sold into slavery. At the turn of the 20th century, the United Kingdom and Egypt struck a joint governance agreement that left Sudan effectively a British colony. The North accepted British rule fairly quickly, but there was resistance in the South, which led to a disparity in development.

1947 - 1955

Unification & Independence

Nearly 50 years later, at a conference in what is now the South Sudanese capital of Juba, an advisory council agreed to more fully integrate governance of southern provinces with the north. Five years later the Egyptian Revolution removed British influence over the country and, because of the previous arrangement between both countries, also led to Sudan gaining independence from both Britain and Egypt. The agreement was reached in October 1954 and took effect on January 1, 1956.

On August 18, 1955, the Equatoria Corps, a military unit comprised of southerners, mutinied at Torit. Rather than surrender to Sudanese government authorities, the mutineers disappeared into hiding with their weapons, marking the beginning of the first Sudanese Civil War. By the end of the war in 1972, 500,000 people lost their lives, and several hundred thousand more had escaped to the surrounding forests or refugee camps in neighbouring countries.

1955 - 1972

The First Sudanese Civil War

On August 18, 1955, the Equatoria Corps, a military unit comprised of southerners, mutinied at Torit. Rather than surrender to Sudanese government authorities, the mutineers disappeared into hiding with their weapons, marking the beginning of the first Sudanese Civil War. By the end of the war in 1972, 500,000 people lost their lives, and several hundred thousand more had escaped to the surrounding forests or refugee camps in neighbouring countries.

By 1969, the rebels had developed foreign contacts to obtain weapons and supplies. Israel, for example, trained Anya Nya recruits and shipped weapons via Ethiopia and Uganda to the rebels. Anya Nya also purchased arms from Congolese rebels. Government operations against the rebels declined after a coup in 1969, and ended with the Addis Ababa accords of 1972, which guaranteed some degree of autonomy and self-governance for the South.

1983 - 2005

The Second Sudanese Civil War

By 1983, tensions in the South had escalated due to a widespread feeling that the Islamic government in the North was overstepping their authority in the South. By imposing Sharia law on a people who were predominantly Christian or traditional in their tribal beliefs, the North failed to respect religious and cultural differences.

An insurgent faction emerged, the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM), established by the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA). The SPLA was established when John Garang, a Northern soldier, was sent to quell a mutiny of 500 Bor Southern troops who were resisting orders to be rotated to the North.

Instead, Garang encouraged mutinies in surrounding garrisons and set himself up as the leader of the rebellion against the government in Khartoum. Garang, a Dinka born into a Christian family, had studied at Grinnell College, Iowa, and later returned to the United States to take a company commanders' course at Fort Benning, Georgia, and again to earn an advanced economics degree at Iowa State University.

2005 - present

The Liberation of South Sudan

Numerous discussions, ceasefires, and agreements were negotiated between rebel forces and their Northern counterparts, but these had little effect until the Comprehensive Peace Agreement was signed in 2005, ending the war. The agreement outlined a power sharing arrangement and a semi-autonomous state for South Sudan, stipulating that a referendum on independence would be held in 6 years.

In 2011, Southern Sudanese people voted on secession from Sudan, with nationals casting votes from around the world. After nearly a month, and with an overwhelming majority of 98% in favour, the people of South Sudan voted to secede. South Sudan was recognized as an independent nation on July 9, 2011, making it the 54th country in Africa and the 193rd country to join the United Nations.