Imperial Sudan

Book excerpt: Imperial Sudan completes a study of the formative colonial period during which Britain and Egypt ruled the country. The previous volume, the acclaimed Empire on the Nile: The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, 1898-1934, appeared in 1986. The current book takes the narrative to independence in 1956 and thus, with Empire, constitutes the first comprehensive survey of the political and economic history of the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan. Dr Daly examines the structure of the colonial regime, its role in Anglo-Egyptian relations, and the development of Sudanese nationalist politics during the inter-war years. He surveys economic and social developments, including government finance and development policy, transport and communications, agricultural production, and social services. He reveals the Sudan's important role in the Second World War, when the Sudan Defence Force held back Italian invasion. The complicated path to self-government and self-determination, which culminated in independence in 1956, is explained in great detail. The book ends with the transfer of power, and the author reflects on the legacy of the Condominium.