THE BRITISH IN THE SUDAN, 1898-1956

Sf Antony'slMacmillan Series

General editor : Archie Brown, Fellow of St Antony's College, Oxford

Said Amir Arjomand (editor) FROM NATIONALISM TOREVOLUTIONARY ISLAM

Anders Aslund PRIVATE ENTERPRISE IN EASTERN EUROPEArchie Brown and Michael Kaser (editors) SOVIET POLICY FOR THE 1980sS. B. Burman CHIEFDOM POLITICS AND ALIEN LAWRenfrew Christie ELECTRICITY, INDUSTRY AND CLASS IN SOUTH

AFRICARobert O. Collins and Francis M. Deng (editors) THE BRITISH IN THE

SUDAN,1898-1956Wilhelm Deist THE WEHRMACHT AND GERMAN REARMAMENTJulius A. Elias PLATO'S DEFENCE OF POETRYRicardo Ffrench-Davis and Ernesto Tironi (editors) LATIN AMERICA AND

THE NEW INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ORDERBohdan Harasymiw POLITICAL ELITE RECRUITMENT IN THE

SOVIET UNIONNeil Harding (editor) THE STATE IN SOCIALIST SOCIETYRichard Holt SPORT AND SOCIETY IN MODERN FRANCEAlbert Hourani EUROPE AND THE MIDDLE EASTAlbert Hourani THE EMERGENCE OF THE MODERN MIDDLE EASTJ. R. Jennings , GEORGES SORELBohdan Krawchenko SOCIAL CHANGE AND NATIONAL

CONSCIOUSNESS IN TWENTIETH-CENTURY UKRAINEA. Kemp-Welch (translator) THE BIRTH OF SOLIDARITYPaul Kennedy and Anthony Nicholls (editors) NATIONALIST AND

RACIALIST MOVEMENTS IN BRITAIN AND GERMANY BEFORE1914

Richard Kindersley (editor) IN SEARCH OF EUROCOMMUNISMGisela C. Lebzelter POLITICAL ANTI-SEMITISM IN ENGLAND,

1918-1939Nancy Lubin LABOUR AND NATIONALITY IN SOVIET CENTRAL

ASIAC. A. MacDonald THE UNITED STATES, BRITAIN AND

APPEASEMENT,1936-1939Patrick O'Brien (editor) RAILWAYS AND THE ECONOMIC

DEVELOPMENT OF WESTERN EUROPE, 1830-1914Roger Owen (editor) STUDIES IN THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL

HISTORY OF PALESTINE IN THE NINETEENTH ANDTWENTIETH CENTURIES

Irena Powell WRITERS AND SOCIETY IN MODERN JAPANT. H. Rigby and Ferenc Feher (editors) POLITICAL LEGITIMATION IN

COMMUNIST STATESMarilyn Rueschemeyer PROFESSIONAL WORK AND MARRIAGEA. J. R. Russell-Wood THE BLACK MAN IN SLAVERY AND FREEDOM

IN COLONIAL BRAZILAron Shai BRITAIN AND CHINA, 1941-47Lewis H. Siegelbaum THE POLITICS OF INDUSTRIAL MOBILIZATION

IN RUSSIA, 1914-17David Stafford BRITAIN AND EUROPEAN RESISTANCE, 1940-1945Nancy Stepan THE IDEA OF RACE IN SCIENCEGuido di Tella ARGENTINA UNDER PER6N, 1973-76Rosemary Thorp (editor) LATIN AMERICA IN THE 1930sRosemary Thorp and Laurence Whitehead (editors) INFLATION AND

STABILISATION IN LATIN AMERICARudolfL. Tokes (editor) OPPOSITION IN EASTERN EUROPE

THE BRITISH IN THESUDAN, 1898-1956

The Sweetness and the Sorrow

Edited by

Robert O. Collins and

Francis M. Deng

MMACMILLAN

Palgrave Macmillan

© Robert O. Collins and Francis M. Deng 1984

Softcover reprint of thehardcover 1stedition 1984

All rights reserved . No part of this publication may be reproduced ortransmitted, in any form or by any means, without permission.

First published 1984 byTHE MACMILLAN PRESS LTDLondon and BasingstokeCompanies and representativesthroughout the world

Filmset by Latimer Trend & Company Ltd Plymouth

British Library Cataloguing in Publication DataThe British in the Sudan, 1898-1956.I. Sudan-Politics and government2. Great Britain-Colonies-Africa-AdministrationI. Collins, Robert O . II. Deng, FrancisMading325'341 '09624 DT108 .6

ISBN 978-1-349-06962-0 ISBN 978-1-349-06960-6 (eBook)DOI 10.1007/978-1-349-06960-6

To Richard Hill

A friend, a scholar and thevery best of the British in

the Sudan

So now when pensioned Governors their aged limbs relax,Their failing powers employed on schemes to outwit Income Tax,With weeping and with laughter still shall the tale be told,How once we governed the Sudan in the brave days of old.

E. A. Balfour, Nil Return from Northern Province

Contents

Notes on the Contributors

Map

Preface

Illustrations

ix

xii

xv

xxi

IntroductionRobert O. Collins

2 In the Beginning 28Michael S. Coray

3 Memories of the Sudan Civil Service 65John W. Frost

4 The Genial Barons 105Gail S. Schoettler

5 The Professionals 134Thomas Fuller

6 The Thin White Line 172Jack Bermingham and Robert O. Collins

7 In the Eyes of the Ruled 216Francis M . Deng

Appendix: An Educational Profile of the Sudan Political Service 244

Bibliographical Note 251

Index 252

Notes on the Contributors

Robert O. Collins is Professor of History at the University of California,Sant a Barbara. Educated at Dartmouth College, Balliol and Yale, hehas taught African history at Williams College, Columbia, and theUniversity of California. Having devoted thirty years to research in theSudan he has written extensively on the Southern Sudan , including hisfour-volume series beginning with The Southern Sudan , 1883-1898: AStruggle fo r Control (1962); King Leopold, England and the Upper Nile,1899-1909 (1968); Land beyond the Rivers: The Southern Sudan,1898-1918 (1971); and more recently Shadows in the Grass: Britain inthe Southern Sudan , 1918-1956 (1983) .

Francis M. Deng received his LL.B. degree from Khartoum Universityand studied at the University of London and received a Doctor of Lawsfrom Yale University. As a scholar and public servant he has writtenextensively on the Dinka including his prizewinning book Tradition andM odernization : A Challenge f or Law among the Dinka of the Sudan ; TheDinka of the Sudan , Dynamics of Identification: A Basis for NationalIntegrat ion in the Sudan ; The Dink a and their Songs; and DinkaFolktales. In 1972 he was appointed the Sudanese Ambassador to theScandinavian countries and then served as his country's Ambassador tothe United States , Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, and theSudanese Ambassador to Canada. He is currently the SudaneseAmba ssador to Ethiopia .

Michael S. Coray is Associate Professor of History at the University ofNevada , Reno , teaching courses in African , Afro-American, andAmerican history . His current research interest centres on an investigation of the black populations of the states and territories of thePacific West in the mid-nineteenth century. He took his doctoral degreeat the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Gail S. Schoettler earned a B.A. with honours in economics fromStanford University and an M.A . and Ph.D. in African history from theUniversity of California, Santa Barbara. She is currently the ExecutiveDirector of the Colorado Department of Personnel and a member of the

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x Notes on the Contributors

Governor's Cabinet. She lives in Parker, Colorado, with her husbandand three children, serves as president of the Douglas County SchoolBoard, and is a trustee of the University of Northern Colorado.

JohnW. Frost took his B.A. degree from Stanford University and Ph.D.from the University of California, Santa Barbara, during which heconducted research in the Sudan as a Fulbright Scholar. Apart from hisacademic interests, he was a former member of the United States DavisCup team, playing numerous times at Wimbledon and throughout theworld. He lives with his wife and daughter in Indian Wells, California.

Thomas Fuller has conducted research in Uganda, Kenya , the UnitedKingdom and the United States on the period of British rule in Africa .He has been a recipient of a Fulbright Research Fellowship and, mostrecently, from the National Endowment for the Humanities for work inpublic and community history. At the present time he is a researchhistorian with the Community and Organization Research Institute atthe University of California, Santa Barbara, and an executive memberof the California Committee for the Promotion of History.

Jack Bermingham is Assistant Professor at Pacific Luthern College. Hismost recent book, Chinese and African Professionals in California(1982), co-authored with Edward Clausen , is to be shortly followed by ahistory of Botswana. He received his Ph.D. degree from the Universityof California, Santa Barbara, and has taught at the University of theWest Indies in Jamaica.

Preface

In his celebrated book, The Human Factor in Changing Africa (1962),Melville J. Herskovits observed that 'Whenever peoples having differentcustoms come together, they modify their ways by taking somethingfrom those with whom they newly meet. They may take over much orlittle, according to the nature of intensity of the contact, or the degree towhich the two cultures have elements in common, or differ in basicorientation. But they never take over or ignore all; some change isinevitable.' What happened when colonial masters and their subjectsmet and intereacted as two sets of peoples, representing different races,cultures, backgrounds, values, and outlooks? This question itself doesnot necessarily imply a value judgement about colonialism; in human ormoral terms the answer could be negative or positive or both. But just asHerskovits's observation implies a certain 'give and take' in humanvalues, the question is not devoid of positive expectations in terms ofcross-cultural understanding, appreciation and influence, elementswhich of necessity involve the very being of the interacting individuals.

Writings on colonial experiences have generally tended to view thesituation in terms of the policies and the collective identities of the rulersand the ruled, leaving little or no room for the individuals most directlyinvolved with the implementation ofcolonial policy, their conception ofthese policies, their role in adapting the policies to the context, theirevolving view of ' the others' and the extent to which they are, in fact ,influenced and perhaps changed. Colonialism has , of course, beenuniversally condemned as a fundamental subjugation and exploitationof people, kindred to slavery , and a negation of basic human rights.Hence the post-war commitment of the world community to thedecolonisation process which, with the exception of a few outstandingpockets, has liberated the continent of Africa, at least from the crudeforms of colonialism, in the remarkably short time of less than threedecades . But , notwithstanding the inherent ind ignities of colonialdomination, this intense human experience, which brought togetherpeoples otherwise very far removed from one another, must posechallenging issues about the value of human interaction, especiallywhen viewed from the perspective of the interacting individuals. As we

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XVi Preface

move away from the colonial trauma, this point, which has often beenoverlooked, will need increasingly to be emphasised to bring about anequilibrium in our view of history and its substantive bequests topresent and future generations.

Two incidents may help to elucidate the positive human perspectiveimplied in this approach. One is recorded by K. D. D. Henderson,former Governor of Darfur Province (1949-53), who also served in anumber of other capacities during his long colonial career in the Sudan.As he came to depart from the Sudan at the end of colonial rule ,Henderson had a moving exchange of sentiments with a leadingpersonality of Darfur. This particular shaykh said to him that as he wasan old man he did not expect to see Henderson in this life, and as for thenext, his religion told him that there was no room in Heaven for nonMoslems. Presuming that Henderson's religion said the same aboutnon-Christians, he concluded that he hoped both were wrong and thatthey would meet again in Heaven.

The next incident occurred in 1969 when Francis and his brother BolDeng returned from the United States and Europe respectively to theirdying father . Since he died in Cairo, they flew the body back to theSudan and on to Abyei, his administrative centre in southern Kordofan,where he was buried with all the rituals due to a Dinka Divine Chief. Asit was during the peak of the civil war between the Northern and theSouthern Sudanese, Northern security forces infiltrated the crowds ofthe mourning Dinka, generating an atmosphere of extreme tension thatwas aggravated by the death of the man they considered their protectoragainst Arab intimidations and threats of imminent death. It was in thatcharged atmosphere that the eldest member of the ruling clan requestedto speak with Francis and Bol. Sitting on the burial scene, somewhatremoved from the crowds, but nevertheless surrounded by onlookersand heavily guarded by the security forces, they listened to what the oldman had to say . He immediately went to the point by asking whether, intheir travels abroad, they had come in contact with the former Britishcolonial administrators. They said they were in touch with some ofthem. The old man seemed suddenly exhilarated; an air of ignorant butinnocent optimism characterised his expression. Were they really intouch with them? Their response was even more assuringly affirmative.He then recounted that, as the British were leaving the Sudan, theDistrict Commissioner in Abyei had told them, the elders, that they, theBritish, were leaving but would keep a close watch on the developmentsin the Sudan. Should the Sudanese fail to get along together, they, theBritish, would be back. 'Would you please go and tell them that we havefailed to get along together! '

Preface xvii

These two stories demonstrate at least two aspects of the British rulein the Sudan which are recognised as positive . The first, illustrated bythe story of the shaykh, deals with the quality of human relationshipswhich the British maintained even, and perhaps especially, with theirsubjects in remote rural areas of the Sudan who were the least touchedby Western civilisation. The second, illustrated by the Dinka elder,shows what was perhaps the greatest, most visible achievement ofBritish rule in the Sudan, the establishment of peace, security and thedignity of tribal autonomy, contrasting sharply with the perpetualsuffering the African tribes had undergone at the hands of successivewaves of invaders and slavers that had ravaged the country, especiallythe Southern Sudan, from the beginning of time.

Despite the remarkable progress made in the decolonisation process,Africa has , of course, not yet fully liberated itself from the colonialyoke, and there may indeed be other dimensions of colonialism that gofar deeper than military occupation and administrative domination. Itmight therefore be argued that the time for reappraisal and recognitionof these positive attributes has not yet arrived. But a pattern has evolvedwhereby colonial powers, and especially the British and the French,tend to maintain close relations with their now independent formercolonies . While some people have dismissed the contribution of theformer colonial powers to their former colonies as the correction of, orcompensation for, the wrongs committed in the past through colonialexploitation, co-operation between the developed nations of Europeand the developing countries of Africa might perhaps be facilitated byunderstanding and appreciating the more positive aspects of thecolonial experience. The history of colonialism indeed seems to showthat the human factor has an overriding, long-term potential for placingthe colonial experience in a more complete perspective, for despite theappalling indignities of slavery and slavelike practices it is none the lessconsoling to know that the inherent moral vitality of humanity willsooner or later bring freedom to the slave, that the freedman and hisformer master can become equals, and that their former relationshipmight indeed provide a basis for co-operation in partnership and evenfriendship . Colonialism is part of an experience. Experience nourishesthe heritage of a people. That heritage provides a necessary catalyst forthe confidence and the vitality needed to overcome the present andfuture challenges embedded in the ongoing experience of mankind -lifeitself.

Colonialism was part of the experience and the heritage of the Sudaneseand can neither be lightly dismissed nor discarded into the trashbin of

XVlll Preface

lost causes . It is part of the Sudanese heritage, that heritage which is thecatalyst to overcome future challenges in the Sudan. There are librariesfilled with learned disquisitions on colonialism in which the Sudan is noexception. Indeed, the editors in different but strikingly parallel researchand writings have sought to elucidate the colonial experience in theSudan under British rule . Unknowingly each of the editors workedindependently on different projects but with the same objectives . In 1973Francis Deng set out to preserve the 'experience' of British rule in theSudan by taped interviews with leading Sudanese. The interviews wereconducted from a well-prescribed format in which similar questionswere asked of each Sudanese notable interviewed. The meeting beganwith first impressions and continued on through their lifetimes ofinterpersonal exchanges with the British administrators. The insightfulcomments brought forth a whole Sudanese perspective of the British asrulers of the Sudan. At approximately the same time Richard Hill wroteto Robert Collins from 'a pleasant room in King's College, Cambridge,on a cloudless day' during a conference on the Middle East in July 1975.He suggested an entirely different technique by which to describe Britishadministration in the Sudan through the memoirs, diaries and letters offormer British officialswhereby they themselves would tell of their life inthe Sudan and their relationships with the Sudanese. The Sudan Archiveat the School of Oriental Studies, Durham University, already possessedan impressive reservoir of such documents, and there were othersscattered throughout Britain in the possession of former British officialsor their families. Richard Hill urged Collins to take on the task ofcollating these relevant materials with 'an introduction and editorialcomment' . Hill's invitation was accepted with alacrity and Collins wroteto him several weeks later that 'the Political Service has been of greatinterest to me and one which today attracts surprisingly greater interest' .At that time Collins was deeply involved in administrative responsibilities as Dean of Graduate Studies at the University of California, SantaBarbara, and so in order to launch the project he invited his formerstudents who had taken their doctoral degrees under his supervision tobecome participants. Most were pleased to take on the responsibility forthe chapters which follow that would revolve around a common theme .The task of collecting the manuscripts then began during the year 1976and 1977. Richard Hill was assiduous in his help, making several trips tothe Sudan Archive at Durham. Tom Fuller made two journeys to Britainin order to collect specific materials from former members of the SudanCivil Service for inclusion in his chapter. The documentation wascirculated among the contributors in order to extract relevant passages

Preface XIX

for their respective chapters. The primary objective in editing was toinform the reader of what actually took place in the British administration of the Sudan. Too many memoirs of the Empire have been filledwith romantic remembrances ofsunsets, children going off to school anddung fires at sunrise without ever really telling about the frequentlytedious tasks which an administrator had to deal with day by day.Slowly the topics began to take shape .

In the summer of 1979 Collins and his wife Janyce spent severalmonths in Khartoum during which they had long and enjoyableevenings with Francis Deng talking about British colonialism, theSudan Political Service and British rule in the Sudan. It was during oneof these discussions that it became quite obvious to them both that theywere pursuing the same objectives along parallel lines. On the one handRobert Collins had amassed a large body of memoirs, diaries and lettersof British officials, while Francis Deng had compiled critical interviewswith important Sudanese about their attitudes and assumptions towardsthe Condominium. The result, of course, was obvious , and by combin ing the research of both they hoped to produce a more balanced andvaluable volume - a tale of two cultures.

The task of editing such a volume is directly proportional to thenumber of participants. Thus, while each contributor was free todevelop the theme of his or her chapter from the product of his or herresearch, the two editors reserved final editorial prerogatives to avoidduplication while maintaining consistency of purpose and uniformity ofconstruction. Consultation followed at the mercy of the mail and thespace ofcontinents which delayed the completion ofthe manuscript, butin the end, we hope we create a sense of complete inclusion in the finaldraft by all the participants.

Such a volume as The British in the Sudan, 1898-1956, must be basedon the words and writings of others . Consequently, many are those whohave contributed to its conclusions, which are, however, the soleresponsibility of the editors. To those who have freely given of their timeby interviews we are deeply grateful. To those who have grantedpermission for us to use their memoirs, letters and diaries we areindebted. To those who have willingly let us use the writings of relativeswe hope to have justified their trust. To each contributor we haveappreciated their patience and understanding. The Ford Foundation,the Hoover Institution and the Committee for Research of theUniversity of California, Santa Barbara, have provided funds to help inthe completion of this volume, but of course they are in no wayresponsible for its conclusions. The final organisation and the in-

xx Preface

troductory chapter were reviewed, revised and completed during theproductive sojourn of Robert Collins and his wife at the RockefellerStudy Center at the Villa Serbelloni, Bellagio, in May 1979. Subsequently the final manuscript was completed during Collins's sabbatical leave from the University of California, Santa Barbara, as SeniorAssociate Member at St Antony's College, Oxford. The editors aredeeply indebted to the Warden, Fellows and the Editorial Board of theCollege for their encouragement and recommendation that the book bepublished in the St Antony's/Macmillan Series. Thus in conjunctionwith the Hoover Institution, who will publish the volume in the UnitedStates , and Macmillan, who will publish in the United Kingdom, weextend our gratitude to Peter Duignan of the Hoover Institution andTim Farmiloe of Macmillan . Philip Winter very kindly helped with theproofs. Finally, a very special appreciation belongs to Mrs DorothyJohnson, whose patience, endurance and interest have been a constantand devoted source of support for these many years.

Robert O. CollinsFrancis M . Deng

Illustrationsla Tram in Khartoum, c. 1905

The Sudan Archive, University ofDurham

1b The Governor-General's car, c. 1907-the only motor-car in theSudan at that time

The Sudan Archive, University of Durham

2a Room in H. A. MacMichael's house, Khartoum, c. 1905The Sudan Archive, University of Durham

2b H. A. MacMichael, J. A. Gillan and Pembroke, Urn Gozein,1910

The Sudan Archive. University ofDurham

3a Interior of the Governor's house, Malakal, Upper Nile Province, 1935


3b Sir Reginald Wingate and Rudolfvon Slatin at Balmoral, 1910The Sudan Archive, University ofDurham

4a Ushur assessment, near Omdurman, 1909The Sudan Archive, University of Durham

4b Gordon College, c. 1910The Sudan Archive, University of Durham

5a Major P. M. Larken on Trek, 1911-16By kind permission of Mrs Phyllis Pepper

5b Fancy dress party at EI Obeid, Christmas 1921The Sudan Archive. University of Durham

5c Farewell to the Governor, Kordofan, 1922The Sudan Archive. University ofDurham

6a Lady Baker hospital steamer in Bahr el Ghazal province c.1926


6b Raw recruits-C. G. Dupuis and Hon. A. M. Asquith, Khartoum, 1909


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xxii Illustrations

7a Training of Nuba Police-these men are poor shots at a target,but seldom miss a running man. In the centre is John Kenrick,District Commissioner of Rashad

Popperfoto

7b Official opening of Kassala-Gedaref-Sennar Railway, c. 1929The Collection of W. J. R. Andrews, The Sudan Archive,University of Durham

8a Swarm of locusts, SudanBBC Hulton Picture Library

8b Guiding, 1934. Mrs J. A. Gillan with the Omdurman GirlGuide Company


9a Steamers Beatrice and Claud at Jokan, 1935The Sudan Archive, University of Durham

9b King's day garden party at the Palace, Khartoum, 17 January1935

Collection of A. J . Gillan, The Sudan Archive, University ofDurham

lOa Bishop Llewelyn Gwynne, in full robesThe Sudan Archive, University of Durham

lOb One of Bishop Gwynne 's children's parties, c. 1935The Sudan Archive, University of Durham

lla Midwifery Training School, Omdurman, 1937The Sudan Archive , University of Durham

11 b J. Winder listening to Nuer on Zeraf Island , Upper NileProvince, c. 1940

The Sudan Archive, University of Durham

12a SOOth meeting of the Governor-General in Council, c. 1942The Sudan Archive, University ofDurham

12b The Governor's Palace, KhartoumThe BBC Hulton Picture Library

The editors and publishers would like to thank Lesley Forbes, archivistat the University of Durham, for illustration research and advice.

THE BRITISH IN THE SUDAN, 1898-1956

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