History Of South Sudan

Egypt, a part of the Ottoman Empire which was ruled by the Muhammad Ali Dynasty, invaded the Sudan region 1820. Egypt united the independent kingdoms that made up Sudan leading to the spread of Islam and Arabic culture throughout the North. South Sudan was landlocked with mountains, tropical rainforests and marshes, which separated the now Islamic and Arab North and the diverse Traditional African South. However, the slave trade became active by the northerners to the inhabitants of South Sudan, which inspired an ill will and mistrust towards the north. This hatred would last for centuries often revived by the northerners constant attempts at forcibly trying to convert the native people to Islam.

South Sudan is very diverse culturally because of it’s geography. It’s mountains, tropical forests and marshes make it so that cultures are not shared as easily as the spreading of Arabic values in the mainly grassland North, leading to unique tribes and cultures being created. The Traditional African or Animist Religions practiced by the natives of South Sudan have many, many different forms, usually believing in deities but also one god or supreme being. Followers usually do not have written songs, stories and is instead passed down teaching but is passed down through a tribe. Beliefs have mixed with Islam and Christianity even if contradictory but the most important part of the religion is making nature be one with the supernatural.

Having Egypt as a protectorate allowed for Great Britain to take over Sudan as another part of Great Britain’s Empire. In 1884, British troops led by Charles Gordon went into Sudan to try to establish imperialism in Sudan. The army was met with a strong resistance by Northern Nationalis...

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...n 1999, Bashir suspended Turabi’s position and the country became less Islamic. On October 16, 1993, Bashir overthrew the Relief and Rehabilitation Commission in a coup and established himself as president. He won reelection in 2000 and again in 2010. In 2005, Bashir gave the south limited autonomy for six years. After the autonomy expired, the country would take a vote on South Sudan becoming independent. This decision ended the Second Sudanese Civil War in 2006, which killed over twenty million people and lasted over thirty years, however fighting between Sudan and South Sudan still happened at the borders. Oil from South Sudan was shared equally until South Sudan's independence to which South Sudan gained all of the profit off of the oil. However, since all of the refineries were located in Sudan, South Sudan had to pay a fee if they want to produce oil.