* * * * *
FROM MOHAMMED ALI’S CONQUEST TO THE END OF 1882.
[Sidenote: 1819. Invasion by Mohammed Ali.]
In 1819 Mohammed Ali, hearing of the anarchy prevailing in the Sudan,
and wishing to introduce the benefits of a regular government of
civilisation, and at the same time to occupy his troops, ordered
his son Ismail, with a numerous army of regulars and irregulars,
with many learned men and artisans, to invade the country.
Ismail reached Khartoum without meeting with any resistance,
and thence marched on to Sennar. Here he found that of the two
rivals to the throne of Baadi, Adlan had been murdered by Regab,
and the latter had fled, leaving the kingdom to the Fung claimant,
Baadi. The latter, however, had resigned his claims to Ismail.
[Sidenote: Ismail burnt at Shendi. 1822.]
At Sennar Ismail was joined by his brother, Ibrahim Pasha, and they
together advanced to Fazogli. Shortly after, Ibrahim returned to
Egypt, and the report spread that Ibrahim had been killed in the
Fazogli Mountains. The Arab nomads immediately rose, but Ismail
returned, defeated the rebels, and appointed new Sheikhs. He then went
on to Shendi, on the Nile. The Mek (ruler) Nimr (tiger) of that place,
wishing to be revenged of all the cruelties and barbarities Ismail
had been guilty of, invited him and his followers to a great banquet
at Shendi. During the banquet and while the guests were all more or
less intoxicated, forage was piled round the tent and set on fire,
and Ismail and all his followers perished (1822).
When the news of this catastrophe reached Kordofan, Ahmed Bey, the
Defterdar, who had wrested that province from the Darfur Sultan,
put himself at the head of a large army and marched on Shendi. When
he reached Metemma, opposite Shendi, the inhabitants sent to ask
for pardon. This was granted. One of the people, however, happening
to throw a lance at the Defterdar, the pardon was at once rescinded,
and a general massacre took place. The Mek el Nimr, however, escaped,
and fled towards Abyssinia.
After this the Defterdar marched to Tuti Island, opposite Khartoum,
where he again defeated the rebels with great slaughter. He then
marched to Wad Medani, near Mesellemia, and then returned to Kordofan.
It is said that when Kordofan was conquered it was found that
the Governor of the Province had the title of Magdum, which is a
title only given to Palace eunuchs. It would appear that it was the
custom of the Darfur Sultans to send eunuchs to govern provinces
and districts.
[Sidenote: 1822.]
In 1822 Osman Bey was named Governor of the Sudan, and the Defterdar,
Ahmed Bey, returned to Egypt. This was a year of rebellions and
famines.
[Sidenote: 1826.]
[Sidenote: 1834.]
In 1826 Maho Bey was appointed Governor. Immediately afterwards
Khurshid Pasha became Governor. He was renowned for his rectitude
and honesty. He led several expeditions up the White Nile against
the Dinka negro tribe, opposite Kodok, and also into the mountains
of Tagale. In 1834 he went to Egypt for a few months. Towards the
end of that year he marched to the Abyssinian frontier to repel
the attack of the Abyssinians who were coming to the assistance
of the Sennar rebels. The Abyssinians were defeated, and Adlan,
their leader, was taken and impaled. During this year cholera and
other diseases ravaged the country. In 1836 the Abyssinians, after
attacking the Gallabat provinces, retreated into their mountains.
[Sidenote: 1839.]
Khurshid Pasha was the first Governor who taught the people of
Khartoum to build with bricks, and to give up their huts made of
skins and reeds. In 1839 he was recalled to Egypt, and was succeeded
by Ahmed Pasha Abu Udn (Father of Large Ears).[153]
The annexation of the Sudan provinces thus took place more than
three-quarters of a century ago. Mohammed Ali having dispersed the
Mamelukes, and made himself master of Nubia, turned his attention
towards the districts bordering the White and the Blue branches
of the Nile. Gold was doubtless his main object, for he had heard
rumours of mines of vast wealth; but we must also give him credit
for an honest intention to introduce commerce and civilisation into
the midst of the Negro tribes.
[Sidenote: Expedition by Mohammed Ali, 1838.]
In the autumn of 1838 Mohammed Ali himself, at the age of 69,
started to visit Fazogli, and in 1840 and following years three
large expeditions were organised. Although gold was not found in any
important quantities, the provinces were reduced under Egyptian sway,
the navigation of the White Nile was declared free, military stations
were established on both rivers, and many slaves were brought back
to swell the ranks of Mohammed’s army. Whatever may have been his
dreams of civilisation, the result of Mohammed’s expedition and
consequent government was to establish at Khartoum, not only the
capital of the Sudan provinces, but also a central mart for a huge
slave trade.
The provinces thus annexed were Kordofan, Sennar, and Taka (Kassala).
[Sidenote: Abbas Pasha, 1848-1854.]
Abbas Pasha, grandson of Mohammed, who ruled Egypt from 1848 to 1854,
kept up his authority in the Sudan provinces by means of a large
force, which was necessary for the purpose of collecting taxes from a
discontented population. In 1853 the most southern Egyptian settlement
was about 120 miles south of Khartoum, but in that year the first
trading voyage to the Upper Nile was started by Mr. Petherick, the
English Consul for the Sudan. He was soon followed by other traders,
who established posts far up country, and organised armed bands under
the command of Arabs. It was soon found that slave hunting paid even
better than ivory, and raids were made on the surrounding tribes.
[Sidenote: 1854-1868.]
Said Pasha, the successor of Abbas, found the country in a deplorable
condition; exhorbitant taxes, a depressed agriculture, and a
disordered administration openly encouraging an open slave trade.
[Sidenote: Said Pasha reorganises Government at Khartoum, 1857.]
With the resolution of organising a better state of things, Said, in
the year 1857, made a rapid tour through the provinces in question. At
Berber he proclaimed the abolition of slavery, and at Khartoum he
organised a new government for the five provinces then comprised in
the Sudan, _i.e._, Kordofan, Sennar, Taka, Berber and Dongola. He
ordered that the excessive taxes on the lands and waterwheels of the
people should be discontinued, and postal services on fast camels
organised across the desert. About the year 1860 the European traders
sold their stations to their Arab agents who paid rental to the
Egyptian Government, and the misery and ruin were increased tenfold.
To Said Pasha is due the first idea for making a railway to unite
the Sudan with Lower Egypt; Mougel Bey was ordered to report on the
subject, but the probable expense caused the project to be abandoned.
[Sidenote: Source of the Nile discovered.]
[Sidenote: 1858.]
The sources of the Nile had long been the object of much speculation,
but comparatively little had been done to solve the question. Towards
the latter end of the eighteenth century, Bruce had tracked the Blue
Nile to its origin in the Abyssinian mountains, but the White Nile
remained unexplored till Speke and Grant, carrying out in 1860-62
an expedition organised by the English Government, proved that the
Victoria Nyanza, discovered by Speke[154] in July, 1858, was the
source of the Nile.
[Sidenote: Sir S. Baker’s expedition in 1861.]
[Sidenote: State of the Sudan in 1864.]
In 1861 Sir Samuel Baker started on an expedition from Cairo
_viâ_ Khartoum, with hopes of meeting the travellers in question,
and of making independent investigations on his own account. He
was successful in both ways, and his explorations resulted in the
discovery, in 1864, of Albert Nyanza Lake. His description of the
Sudan at this period under the governorship of a certain Musa Pasha
gives a melancholy picture of the results of Egyptian rule. He
describes the provinces as utterly ruined and only governed by
military force, the revenue unequal to the expenditure, and the
country paralysed by excessive taxation; shut in by deserts, all
communication with the outer world was most difficult; and the
existing conditions rendered these countries so worthless to the
State, that their annexation could only be accounted for by the
fruits of the slave trade.
[Sidenote: Ismail Pasha, 1863.]
On Ismail Pasha coming to the throne in 1863, orders for the
suppression of the slave trade were issued, and on Baker’s return
journey in 1865, he found an Egyptian camp of 1,000 men established
at Kodok in the Shilluk country for the purpose.
[Sidenote: Scheme for railway again brought forward, 1865-66.]
In 1865-6 the Khedive again brought forward the scheme for a Sudan
Railway, and a study of the country from Aswan to Khartoum was
made by Mr. Walker and Mr. Bray, but nothing came of it. About
the same time Mr. Hawkshaw recommended the canalisation of the 1st
Cataract, but this was strongly opposed by Mr. Fowler, who proposed
as an alternative to construct a ship incline over land, using the
mechanical force supplied by the descending water.
Ismail Pasha not only determined to extend his territories, but
seemed in earnest to put down the slave trade.
The traders were chiefly Arab subjects of the Khedive, and
the traffic was being carried out under the cloak of legitimate
commerce. Khartoum was the headquarters for the trading companies,
who leased from the Governor-General of the Sudan certain districts
nominally for carrying on the ivory trade, for which they bought
the monopoly. In these transactions the Government did not hesitate
to lease territories over which they had not a vestige of right; in
fact, any portion of Central Africa south of Khartoum was considered
open to them for selling the monopoly. The result was that certain
traders established themselves in, and claimed a sort of proprietary
right to large districts, especially in that part which lies to the
South of Darfur and Kordofan, and borders the course of the White
Nile, now known as the Bahr El Ghazal. Traffic in slaves was the
real business carried on, and for this purpose the traders organised
armies of brigands, and formed chains of stations, of about 300 men
each, throughout their districts. Raids were made on native tribes,
who were obliged to submit, fly the country, or ally themselves
to the slave hunters, to be used against other tribes; and anarchy
prevailed throughout the country.
[Sidenote: 1869.]
In order to carry out the reforms it was necessary to annex the Nile
Basin, to establish a sound government and commerce, and to open the
Equatorial Lakes to steam navigation. The Khedive accordingly issued
a firman to Sir S. Baker on 1st April, 1869, whereby he gave him
absolute and supreme power over all the country south of Gondokoro.
Baker left Suez for Suakin in December, 1869, and proceeded to
Khartoum, where the expedition was fitted out.
He experienced much opposition from officials, who were all more
or less implicated in the slave trade. He also made the discovery
that the very provinces he was about to annex were already leased
by the Governor-General of the Sudan to a notorious slave-trader,
named Ahmed Sheikh Aga, whose son in-law and partner, Abu Saud,
was a still more notorious character.
[Illustration: SUDANESE WOMEN.]
Another expedition was being fitted out, at the same time, to the
Bahr el Ghazal, for the purpose of establishing a settlement at some
copper mines on the frontier of Darfur.
[Sidenote: Annexation of Gondokoro, May 26th, 1871.]
[Sidenote: Unyoro annexed, 14th May, 1872.]
In February 1870 Baker left Khartoum, and after several abortive
attempts, with great difficulty succeeded in dragging his boats
over the sudd in the Bahr El Zeraf and arrived at Gondokoro, and
formally annexed this station, as “Ismailia,” on May 26th,
1871. In January, 1872, he left Gondokoro for the south, and on the
14th May of the same year, at Masindi, proclaimed Unyoro an Egyptian
province. He organised military posts such at Masindi, Foweira,
Fatiko, etc., and entered into friendly relations with M’tesa,
the King of Uganda, thus establishing the Khedive’s rule to within
2° of the Equator. He dealt the slave trade a heavy blow by putting
a stop to it in the annexed territory, as well as on the Nile, so
that all exit for the traffic in the direction of Khartoum would
have been closed if the officials could have been trusted.
[Sidenote: Baker returns to Cairo, August, 1873.]
In August, 1873, Baker returned to Cairo, and the Khedive put the
Government of the Sudan on a fresh footing, by dividing it into
provinces under responsible governors, more or less independent of
the Governor of Khartoum. Thus Yusef Effendi was made Governor of
Kodok, Ismail Yagub Pasha of Khartoum, and Hussein Khalifa of Berber.
[Sidenote: 1871. Railway scheme again taken up.]
In 1871 the railway scheme was again taken up; Mr. Fowler was
employed by the Khedive to make careful surveys, and the result was
an elaborately prepared project for making a line from Wadi Halfa,
_viâ_ Shendi, to Khartoum, with a plan for the passage of the 1st
Cataract. Such a line would have been of vast importance in opening
up the trade of Central Africa.
[Sidenote: 1874. Colonel Gordon appointed Governor of Equatorial
Provinces.]
At the close of Sir Samuel Baker’s expedition, the Khedive,
still anxious to consolidate his Empire, appointed Colonel Gordon,
R.E., to carry on the work. Gordon arrived in Cairo early in
1874, and left for the scenes of his future operations on 21st
February. His appointed task was to continue the reconnaissance of
the Upper Nile, to establish a Government, and to destroy the slave
trade. Accompanying him were Lieut.-Colonel Long, an American officer
in the service of the Khedive, Lieut. Hassan Wassif, and a number
of European civil employés. It was arranged that the territory
over which the Governor-General of the Sudan now ruled was to be
limited to the south by Kodok; Gordon to be Governor-General of the
Equatorial provinces of the Nile, and the respective headquarters
to be at Khartoum and Gondokoro.
[Sidenote: Slave stations broken up, 1874.]
Gordon left Khartoum in March, 1874, and reached Gondokoro the
15th of the following month, where he was cordially received by
the Commandant, Rauf Bey. He found that the provinces in question
were merely nominally under Egyptian control, there being but two
garrisons, one at Gondokoro consisting of 450 men, 150 of whom were
Egyptian soldiers, and a second at Fatiko of 200 Sudan soldiers. His
first steps were to occupy Bor, an important position north of
Gondokoro, and to send Colonel Long on an expedition to M’tesa,
King of Uganda. He then in June, 1874, proceeded to break up three
large slave-trading stations on the Bahr el Zeraf, and established
a strong post at the Sobat junction, so situated as to be able to
arrest all illegal traffic on the river. The liberated slaves he, in
accordance with their own option, planted at Sobat, and encouraged
them to turn their attention to agriculture, it being one of his
ideas that most of the wars between the tribes were caused by the
great deficiency of food.
During the summer of 1874, Rauf Bey returned to Cairo, and was given
the command of the Harrar country. Gordon sent Gessi about the same
time to make an inspection along the Bahr el Ghazal.
Abu Saud, notorious in Baker’s time, had accompanied Gordon from
Cairo. The latter, though aware of his character, knew him to be
a man of great influence among the slave-dealing communities, and
determined to turn him to account. On first taking over the government
at Gondokoro, he made Abu Saud his lieutenant, and employed many
of the other slave dealers under him. This, however, was of short
duration; Abu Saud soon got beyond himself, and, showing his true
character, was speedily dismissed by Gordon; while, towards the end
of the year, a clean sweep was made of all the other slave-dealing
Dongolese, whose intrigues had seriously hampered Long’s expedition.
[Sidenote: September, 1874. Submission of chiefs round Gondokoro.]
On 11th September, 1874, 25 chiefs of the tribes round Gondokoro came
in to pay homage to Gordon, a remarkable proof of the success of his
rule, as up to this they had been at open enmity with the garrisons.
In October Yusef Bey, Governor of Kodok, intercepted a convoy of
1,600 slaves and 190 head of cattle from the stations of Ratatz and
Kuchuk Ali on the Bahr El Zeraf.
About this time Gordon was making preparations for his expedition
to the lakes. The sections of the steamers, which had been left at
Gondokoro by Baker, were sent forward by carriers, to be put together
at the Falls of Dufile, beyond which point there is a free passage
to the lake Albert Nyanza.
It was decided to establish fortified posts at the following
stations:—Labore, Dufile, Fatiko, and Foweira; this step was
rendered necessary by the hostile attitude shown towards Colonel
Long’s expedition by the King of Unyoro backed up by slave-traders.
[Sidenote: 1874. Representative sent to M’tesa.]
In consequence of the report of Colonel Long, who returned in October,
Gordon arranged to send a trustworthy representative[155] to M’tesa,
King of Uganda, who had shown himself to be friendly.
On the 21st November Gondokoro was abandoned as the headquarters in
favour of Lado, a more healthy spot a few miles down the river, while
another post was established at Rejaf, a short distance up the river.
At the close of the year 1874 Gordon reported the organisation of
governmental districts along the whole line of his provinces, the
chief stations being the following:—
1. Sobat, at the junction of the Sobat River with the Nile; garrison,
50 Sudan regulars.
2. Nasser, on the Sobat; garrison, 100 Dongolese irregulars.
3. Ghabatshambe (Shambe), 30 Sudan regulars, 150 Dongolese irregulars.
4. Makaraka, 20 Sudan regulars, 150 Dongolese irregulars.
5. Bor, 10 Sudan regulars, 150 Dongolese irregulars.
6. Latuka, 10 Sudan regulars, 100 Dongolese irregulars.
7. Lado. Headquarters, 180 Sudan regulars, 50 Egyptian regulars.
8. Rejaf, 80 Sudan regulars.
9. Dufile (Ibrahimieh), 10 Sudan regulars.
10. Fatiko, 250 Sudan regulars, 100 Egyptian regulars.
11. Foweira, 100 Sudan regulars, 100 Egyptian regulars.
The results of the nine months’ work are summed up by the Egyptian
General Staff[156] as follows:—
1st. The White Nile had been mapped with very considerable accuracy
from Khartoum to Rejaf by Lieutenants C. M. Watson and Chippendall,
R.E.
2nd. The slave trade on the White Nile had received a deadly blow.
3rd. Confidence and peace had been restored among the tribes round
Gondokoro, who now freely brought in for sale their beef, corn,
and ivory.
4th. The work of opening a water communication between Gondokoro
and the lakes had been seriously commenced.
5th. Communications had been established with M’tesa, and the
connection of Lake Victoria with Lake Albert, by the way of the
Victoria Nile, demonstrated.
6th. Government districts had been formed and secure posts with
intercommunication established.
7th. New expeditions were organised and ready to commence.
CONQUEST OF DARFUR, 1874.
[Sidenote: Conquest of Darfur, 1874.]
During the year 1874 an important addition was made to the Egyptian
possessions in the shape of the Province of Darfur.
Gordon writes:—“Dar For and Dar Fertit mean _the land of the
Fors_ and _the land of the Fertits_. The Fors and the Fertits were
the original negro inhabitants; then came in the Beduin tribes, who
partially conquered the country and made the Fors Mussulmans, giving
them a Sultan. The Fors and the Beduin tribes, the one stationary and
the other nomadic, live in peace, for their habits are different.”
The country of Darfur had never been subjugated, but had been
governed by its own Sultans in unbroken succession for more than 400
years.[157] The inhabitants were not of the true negro type, and the
numerous wandering Arab tribes paid tribute to the Sultan and formed
the bulk of his fighting men. Darfur enjoyed the celebrity not only
as a centre of commerce, but also as a large slave depôt, a fact
which appears from the following correspondence which passed between
Bonaparte and Sultan Abd-el-Rahman, surnamed “the Just.” During
the French expedition to Egypt, “the Just” wrote to Bonaparte
“In the name of God the compassionate, the merciful,” saying he
was glad to hear that he had conquered the Mamelukes. The reply was
as follows:—“Au Sultan du Darfour, 12 Messidor, an VII, au nom
de Dieu, clément et miséricordieux, il n’y a d’autre Dieu que
Dieu! au Sultan du Dar-fur Abd-el-Rahmân.
“J’ai reçu votre lettre: j’en ai compris le contenu; lorsque
votre caravane est arrivée j’étais absent ayant été en Syrie
pour punir et détruire nos ennemis. Je vous prie de m’envoyer par
la première caravane 2,000 esclaves noirs ayant plus de 16 ans,
forts et vigoureux: je les achèterai pour mon compte. Ordonnez
votre caravane de venir de suite, de ne pas s’arrêter en route:
je donne les ordres pour qu’elle soit protégée partout.
Le Général-en-Chef BONAPARTE.”
[Sidenote: Bellal’s expedition to Bahr El Ghazal destroyed by
Zubeir, 1869.]
Dating from the days of Mohammed Ali’s expeditions, Darfur
was in constant dread of Egyptian aggression, and the country was
practically closed to all Europeans, who were regarded as spies. For
many generations Darfur had sent annually a caravan containing ivory,
feathers, gum, slaves, etc., to Egypt, bringing back in exchange
cloth, beads, firearms, etc. In 1874, the slave trade having been
stopped in Egyptian territory, the Governor of the Sudan seized all
the slaves belonging to the caravan of that year; this was one of
the causes which led to a rupture with the Sultan of Darfur.
In 1869 the power of the slave dealers in the Bahr El Ghazal had
become so great that they refused to pay their rentals to the
Egyptian Government. Conspicuous among them was a certain Zubeir
Rahama, who, according to Dr. Schweinfurth, lived in princely style
and was regarded as a kind of king.
With the object of re-establishing his authority in the Bahr El
Ghazal provinces, and also of conquering Darfur, the Khedive sent a
small force under the command of Bellal. This force was destroyed
by Zubeir, who became the chief power in the country. The Sultan
of Darfur, in the meantime, to meet Bellal’s threatened attack,
had placed an embargo on corn along his southern frontier. This
incensed the slave traders, who drew their supplies from Darfur,
and a further cause of quarrel was the invasion of Bahr El Ghazal
territory by Darfur troops in pursuit of slaves. Zubeir accordingly
prepared for an invasion of the province. The Egyptian Government,
seeing the danger of his acquiring fresh strength, determined upon
taking the conquest into their own hands, giving out as a pretext that
the repeated hostile expeditions of the Sultan had made it necessary
to occupy Darfur. Two expeditions were accordingly organised—one
from the north under the command of Ismail Yagub Pasha, and one from
the south under Zubeir. In one of the ensuing battles the Sultan
and two of his sons were killed, and Darfur fell into Egyptian
hands. Zubeir was made a pasha, but he claimed a right to be made
governor-general of the new province, and his acknowledged power was
likely to make him formidable. His request, however, was refused,
and though at first he intended to assert his independence, he, in
the end, decided to push his claim at Cairo. Here he was, however,
detained,[158] his son, Suleiman, of whom more hereafter, meanwhile
taking his place in the provinces.
[Sidenote: Exploration of Darfur and Kordofan, 1874.]
Darfur having thus become an Egyptian province, the Khedive sent out
two scientific expeditions, composed of staff officers and attachés,
to report on the capabilities of the country. These left Cairo on the
5th December, 1874: one, under Colonel Purdy, was to enter Darfur
on its northern frontier; the other under Colonel Colston, by the
east from Kordofan. The latter expedition was afterwards commanded
by Major Prout, when Colston was incapacitated by sickness. Reports
of these expeditions were compiled by the Egyptian General staff.
RELATIONS WITH ABYSSINIA.
The relations between Egypt and Abyssinia have an important bearing on
the history of the Sudan, and in future years are likely to exercise
a still further influence on this portion of Africa.
The Turks and Arabs never succeeded in subjugating this country,
although many attempts were made to that end. As far back as the
sixteenth century the Turks had seized the port of Zula on the Red
Sea, and in later times Suakin and Massaua; but, though based on
these ports, they could make no headway into the Abyssinian hills,
nor even occupy the coast provinces from Massaua to Suakin. During
the aggressions of Ismail, son of Mohammed Ali, the Egyptians and
Abyssinians came into collision from Kassala to Gallabat, and the
Abyssinians were gradually pushed back to the mountains as their
boundary, being hemmed in on all sides by Turks, Egyptians, and the
tribes of the Galla country.
[Sidenote: Massaua transferred to Egypt, 1866.]
[Sidenote: English expedition, 1868.]
In 1866 Turkey transferred her interest in Massaua to Egypt in
consideration of an increased tribute, and in 1867 the Khedive claimed
authority as far as Zula, which is situated in Annesley Bay. Early in
1868 the English expedition to Abyssinia took place, and the Khedive,
wishing for the countenance of England in his present and possible
future encroachments on the Red Sea coast, did all in his power to
assist the undertaking. Egyptian troops were offered to the British
Government, though not accepted, and Kassala and Gallabat were spoken
of as possible bases of operations. All this did not tend towards
creating a good feeling between Egypt and Abyssinia.
When the Khedive, Ismail Pasha, was arranging his Sudan railway
scheme, he proposed to make a branch line to Massawa, which would
necessarily pass through the province of Bogos.
The Khedive claimed that Bogos had been conquered by Mohammed Ali,
though as a matter of fact the borderland only had been held by
the Egyptians, whilst the Abyssinians denied that they had ever
relinquished their rights to the territory. Border war had been
maintained till Said Pasha, the former Khedive, had withdrawn his
troops, and Bogos for many years had remained neutral ground.
[Sidenote: Keren, capital of Bogos, occupied, 1874.]
In the summer of 1874 there was a certain Swiss resident at
Massaua named Munzinger, who acted as consul for both England and
France. Seizing the opportunity of the King of Abyssinia being at
war with the Gallas, the Egyptian Government employed Munzinger
to occupy Keren, the capital of Bogos, with 1,500 men. About the
same time, Egypt also acquired the territory of Ailet, a province
lying between Hamasen and Massaua, by the treachery of the Governor,
who sold it to the Khedive.
Against these acts the King appealed to Europe, and especially to
England, sending as his envoy Colonel Kirkman, a Scotchman, then in
the service of King Johannes, but who had formerly been with Gordon
in China. This mission had no practical result, and the relations
between Abyssinia and Egypt were more strained than ever.
[Sidenote: Port of Zeila purchased by Egypt, 1875.]
In 1875 the Khedive purchased from the Sultan, for about £15,000 a
year additional tribute, the port of Zeila, the base from which for
many centuries Turk and Arab had unsuccessfully attacked Abyssinia;
and in fact acquired at the same time all the Sultan’s nominal
rights to the coast country from near Tajura to a point on the
Indian Ocean, including Berbera, the transfer actually taking place
in autumn, 1875.
ANNEXATION OF HARRAR, 1874.
[Sidenote: Harrar annexed, 1874.]
The province of Harrar was annexed by an expedition under Rauf Pasha,
whom, it may be remembered, Gordon had relieved at Gondokoro in
1874. After the death of Emir Ahmed, Sultan of Harrar, mentioned by
the traveller Burton, the inhabitants made Khalifa Sitra Emir. He
was deposed after a three days’ reign by Mohammed; the latter
oppressed his subjects, favouring the Galla tribes, and bullying
the Mussulmans. The people asked the Khedive to take possession,
and in the year 1874, Rauf Pasha, being sent up for the purpose, met
with little opposition. He began his government by the unnecessary
act of causing the Sultan to be strangled. The Sultan’s son went
to Cairo to complain, but nothing was done.
GORDON’S EXPEDITION TO THE LAKES, 1875.
[Sidenote: 1875.]
Early in 1875 Gordon heard ill reports of Kabarega, King of Unyoro,
who, with the old slave traders, was meditating treachery. He had
already cleared his province of all those traders on whom he could
lay hands, but 50 of them had escaped him, and taken themselves to
the chief above mentioned. Rionga, Kabarega’s rival, now received
Gordon’s support.
From the experience gained it became evident to Colonel Gordon that,
in order to open up the Equatorial provinces, an outlet to the
eastern coast must be made. The Nile was found to be impracticable
as a waterway, owing to the numerous rapids, the obstruction formed
by floating masses of vegetation (_sudd_), and the scarcity of
wood. And as Gordon writes from Lado: “The only valuable parts of
the country are the highlands near M’tesa, while all between this
(Lado) and Khartoum is wretched marsh.”
[Sidenote: 1875.]
In January, 1875, Gordon proposed to the Khedive that he should
establish a station at Mombasa Bay, 250 miles north of Zanzibar,
and also take Formosa Bay, or rather a point, where the Tana and Ozi
debouch, to the north of it. In making this proposition he was under
the impression that the Tana was navigable as far as Mount Kenia,
and that Lake Baringo was connected with the Victoria Nyanza, neither
of which suppositions are true. The Khedive on his side proposed
the mouth of the Juba as a base, and fitted out an expedition for
the purpose of occupying it, of which more hereafter.
Gordon now set himself to transport a steamer from Lado to the
lakes. The difficulties he had to contend with were very great,
including the hostility of the border tribes, the obstacles to
navigation, and above all, the useless material of which the Egyptian
troops were composed. The heavy parts of the steamer had to be carried
separately in large Nile boats (nuggars) to Dufile Falls, above
which and up to the lakes the river is navigable. As he advanced,
stations were established along the west bank of the river. This
bank was more secure from attack by natives, as the mountains came
within eight miles of it, and limited the sphere of their operations;
while on the east bank the Bari tribe was very hostile. A party under
Linant, one of Gordon’s officers, was here surprised and massacred.
As regards the finances of the expedition, Gordon writes from Muggi,
in August, 1874:—“In a year he (the Khedive) has had £48,000
from the province, and I have spent, say, £20,000 at the outside,
and have £60,000 worth of ivory here.” In September he says that he
was entirely independent of the Sudan Government as regards supplies,
and could raise them from his own resources. In this month parties
were sent out to levy taxes in the shape of cattle on the hostile
tribes, which had a salutary effect in keeping them quiet.
[Sidenote: Gessi Pasha.]
During Gordon’s absence, the Shilluk tribes in the neighbourhood
of Kodok rose in rebellion against the oppression of the Government,
and, had it not been for the presence of Gessi there at the time,
Kodok would probably have been lost. Gessi was an Italian adventurer
of great force of character; he joined Gordon’s staff in the summer
of 1874, having, during the Crimean war, acted as interpreter to
British troops.
The steamer reached Labore in December, great difficulties having
been met with in getting the boats conveying it up the rapids.
JUBA RIVER EXPEDITION, 1875.
[Sidenote: The Juba River Expedition, 1875.]
In the autumn of 1875 the Khedive, having long had under consideration
the advantage of opening up a line of communication from the Indian
Ocean to the central provinces, sent out what is known as the Juba
River Expedition. The command was given to McKillop Pasha (an English
naval officer who died in 1879, and he was accompanied by Colonels
Ward and Long, the former to survey the harbours along the coast
and the latter to command an inland expedition. Colonel Gordon was
to co-operate from the direction of Victoria Nyanza.
The anchorage at the mouth of the Juba River having been found
inferior, the Expedition ran several miles further south to Port
Durnford and the harbour of Kismayu; but here they encroached on the
territory of the Sultan of Zanzibar. Several interests now clashed
with the success of the enterprise. The British Government were
bound more or less to the Sultan by treaties concerning the slave
trade. The merchants of Zanzibar became alarmed for their equatorial
trade, and the people of Aden for their supplies from the Somalis,
who had been independent till Egypt had acquired a portion of their
territory and levied taxes at their ports. The result was that, at
the instance of Great Britain, the Egyptian Expedition was given up,
but, on the other hand, the Khedive’s authority along the coast,
as far as about 10° north lat. was tacitly acknowledged. Ismail Pasha
was thus encouraged to think that he was entitled to the whole of the
Red Sea coast, and could resist any pretensions of the Abyssinians
to a port; while England believed that she had erected a safeguard
against European settlement on the coast, and had opened the way to
a Slavery Treaty with Egypt.
WAR WITH ABYSSINIA, 1875-1876.
[Sidenote: Abyssinia. Arendrup’s Expedition, 1875.]
[Sidenote: Destruction of Egyptian Army. 11.11.75.]
[Sidenote: Second expedition fitted out, December, 1875.]
During the same period other important events were passing in
Abyssinia. Soon after the acquisition of the Port of Zeila by the
Khedive, an Egyptian force was despatched to Massaua under Colonel
Arendrup, a Danish officer in the Egyptian service. King Johannes
had lately formed a new province (Ginda), which included the seaboard
from the head of Annesley Bay to Amfila Bay and the Shoho, the Port of
Zula, and the district of Ginda lying south of Ailet. This he had done
to ensure the Port of Zula to Abyssinia, and he made Kirkman Governor
of the new province, giving him the freehold for life. Kirkman
accordingly had established his headquarters at Ginda, and ran
up the British flag. In October, 1875, Arendrup’s force, having
landed at Massaua, proceeded to Ginda, and took possession of it, and
soon afterwards moved on Adua, the capital of Abyssinia. King John,
however, having collected a large force, surprised and annihilated
the Egyptian army at Gundet, killing 1,800 men and capturing 2,000
rifles, on the 11th of November. On the news reaching Cairo, another
expedition on a larger scale was immediately organised, and the chief
command given to Ratib Pasha, who was accompanied by Prince Hassan
and several American officers in the service of the Khedive. The
headquarters arrived at Massaua about the middle of December.
[Sidenote: Defeat of the Egyptians, 7th March, 1876.]
Owing however, to the disorganised state of the Staff and the
difficulties of transport the army did not get under way till the
middle of January, 1876. After tedious marches, it arrived at the Kaya
Khor Pass, near which place, at Gura, it was met and heavily defeated
by King John on 7th March, losing nearly 4,000 men and 8,000 rifles.
The Egyptians retired into a fort they had constructed at Kaya
Khor, where, during the next two days, they were assailed by the
Abyssinians. On the 11th of March, however, King John withdrew his
forces, and peace negotiations were entered upon. The Egyptian army
commenced its return march for Massaua on the 19th April.
Ratib now returned to Cairo, leaving Osman Pasha in command at
Massaua.
[Sidenote: Walad Mikael.]
Walad (Wolda) Mikael, a former Governor of the Hamasen, and hereditary
ruler of Hamasen and Bogos, who had joined the Egyptians during the
campaign, now occupied himself in making a raid against the Hamasen
territory of Abyssinia, which he laid waste in all directions. He
then retired into Bogos and remained for some time at the Senhît
Fort under protection of the Egyptians, who kept him as a menace to
King John. The latter employed another chief, Shella Khan Alula,
to watch him and to retaliate by ravaging the Bogos and Ailet
countries. Menelik, King of Shoa, meanwhile had marched against King
John, under the impression that he was worsted by the Egyptians,
but he now returned to his own country.
The peace negotiations had come to an abrupt termination on account
of the proceedings of Mikael, but in June, 1876, the King sent an
envoy to Cairo to endeavour to have the boundary fixed, to secure
certain privileges for Abyssinia at the Port of Massaua, and to
obtain an Abuna (high priest) to fill the place of one who had died;
offering at the same time the surrender of Hamasen if Walad Mikael
were given up to him. The King’s representative was retained at
Cairo, on one pretext or another, till December, when he was released
through the influence of the British Consul.
[Sidenote: 1876.]
GORDON’S OPERATIONS, 1876-1879.
[Sidenote: Gessi navigates Lake Albert Nyanza, 1876.]
Early in 1876 Gordon made preparations for Gessi to proceed to Lake
Albert Nyanza with two lifeboats, while he himself proceeded towards
Lake Victoria.
He had now surveyed the river from Khartoum to Dufile, and
from Foweira to Mruli. Gessi started in March, and succeeded in
circumnavigating the lake in nine days, finding it to be only 140
miles long and 50 miles wide. The natives showed themselves hostile,
and the west coast was inaccessible.
In January, Gordon had given up all idea of forming an expedition
to meet that proposed from the Juba river; his reasons were that
his troops were utterly untrustworthy and unfitted for such a task.
In July a steamer, brought up with much difficulty, was at length
put together above the Dufile Falls, and the passage cleared to the
Albert Lake.
A treaty was made with M’tesa recognising his independence,
and Dr. Emin Effendi,[159] a German by birth, was sent to him as
Gordon’s representative.
[Sidenote: Gordon leaves for England, October, 1876.]
In October Gordon left for Khartoum and thence for England, having
handed over the government of his province to Colonel Prout. He had
during the three years successfully checked the slave trade in the
Equatorial provinces, and established the basis of a sound government,
if such could be found under Egyptian rule. That he could not
entirely suppress the slave trade was due to its huge ramifications,
the despicable quality of his troops, and the resistance offered
to all his endeavours by the government of the Sudan under Ismail
Yagub Pasha.
[Sidenote: Gordon returns to Egypt, February, 1877.]
In February, 1877, Gordon, under pressure, returned to Egypt, and
the Khedive made him Governor-General of the Sudan, uniting in one
great province the Sudan, the Equatorial provinces, and the Red Sea
provinces; thus giving him a district some 1,640 miles in length by
an average of 660 in breadth, with three Wakils (deputy governors)
for Sudan proper, Darfur, and the Red Sea provinces respectively. The
Khedive drew his attention specially to the suppression of the
slave trade and the improvement of the communications, and gave him
powers to negotiate with Abyssinia in order to end the disputes with
King John.
[Sidenote: Gordon goes to Abyssinia, 1877.]
Gordon at once proceeded, _viâ_ Massaua, to the Abyssinian frontier
to make a treaty, if possible, with the King. He found that there was
no hope of bringing the matter to a satisfactory result till a stop
was put to the raids of Walad Mikael. Just now a large portion of
Gordon’s troops were withdrawn for service in the Turco-Russian
war, and it was useless for him to think of using force against
Mikael, while the news of a serious revolt in Darfur required his
presence elsewhere. He therefore agreed to supply Walad Mikael with
money and provisions, on condition that he gave up his attacks on
Abyssinia. King John, taking advantage of this temporary respite,
proceeded to attack Menelik, King of Shoa.
Gordon having visited Bogos, Kassala, Gedaref, and Sennar, proceeded
to Khartoum; here he spent some time in carrying out reforms, amongst
others in giving back to the Ulema their ancient privileges of which
they had been deprived by the late Governor, Ismail Yagub Pasha. In
May, however, he found himself obliged to start for Darfur.
[Sidenote: 1877.]
Harûn, a relative of the late Sultan of Darfur, and a claimant to the
throne, took advantage of the discontent caused by the misgovernment
of the province to raise a revolt in February, 1877. He had a very
large number of men with him as the nomad tribes, who had not helped
the Sultan when Darfur was conquered in 1874, now joined his standard.
These tribes were semi-independent under their own Sheikhs, and each
of them could put from 2,000 to 6,000 horse or camel-men into the
field. They were largely engaged in the slave trade, making raids
on the negro tribes to the south, or buying slaves from other nomad
tribes who lived out of range to the west. Though the traffic of the
large slave caravans had ceased, yet there was still an extensive
trade carried on by small dealers, which it was impossible to
put down.
The Governor of Darfur at this time was Hassan Hilmi Pasha, who
showed no energy, as up to May he had failed to render assistance
to the stations of El Fasher, Dara, Kolkol, and Kebkebia, where the
followers of Harûn had hemmed in the Egyptian garrisons. A force
had, it is true, been sent from Foga for the purpose, but seemed
unable to accomplish the task.
[Sidenote: Gordon arrives in Darfur, June, 1877.]
Gordon arrived himself at Foga on the 7th June, having dismissed,
before his departure from Khartoum, Khaled Pasha, who had been sent
to him as second in command.
In addition to the revolt in Darfur, Suleiman, son of Zubeir, was now
at the head of the slave dealers to the south, and, having a large
force at his command, was displaying a threatening attitude. Shakka
was his headquarters, and the nest of the slave trade in that
part. Gordon, considering the country was scarcely worth keeping,
determined to call in all the outlying stations of Darfur, and merely
maintain garrisons along the trunk road through El Fasher. Harûn
was at Tine, and Gordon intended to move against him with the force
at his disposal, reinforced by the garrisons of Taweisha, Dara, and
Kagmar, in all about 3,000 men. In July he was at Dara, and Harûn
retreated to Tura, whence he ravaged the country to the north, but,
seeing Gordon was too strong for him, disappeared for the time.
[Sidenote: Meeting with Suleiman, August, 1877.]
Gordon was at El Fasher in August, but soon after left for Dara,
where he heard that the slave dealers were gathering in force. Here
he met Suleiman and ordered him to lay down his arms; after some
hesitation Suleiman left a large number of his men with Gordon and
returned to Shakka; to this place Gordon followed him about the
middle of September, and sent him to the Bahr El Ghazal, while the
other chiefs he dismissed to various places. The slave trade was
thus broken up for the time being in this direction, and very large
numbers of slaves were liberated. There were, however, upwards of
4,000 more slave hunters to be dealt with in the Bahr El Ghazal,
but Idris, the chief of these, was friendly to Gordon.
[Sidenote: Mikael again giving trouble, 1877.]
Gordon now returned to Khartoum, _viâ_ El Obeid, and proceeded
immediately to Bogos, where he heard that Mikael had resumed
hostilities. In March, Gordon had proposed to King Johannes that Egypt
should retain Bogos, but be answerable for the conduct of Mikael. Now,
however, seeing that the latter was not to be trusted, he proposed to
King Johannes to join him in seizing and sending him to Cairo. To this
Gordon received no answer, and Mikael continued his aggressive action.
On December 26th Gordon writes:—“I am now waiting for a letter
from Ras Barion, the frontier General . . . I want to get Johannes
to give a pardon to Walad Mikael’s men, in order that, if I have
to attack them, I may be able to give them the chance of getting
away. If I attack them now, with Abyssinia closed to them, they
would fight desperately.”
[Sidenote: Visit of Gordon to Harrar, and dismissal of Rauf Pasha,
the Governor, April, 1878.]
At the end of the year Gordon, getting no satisfaction, returned to
Khartoum by Suakin and Berber, and, having paid a visit to Cairo,
again started for the Red Sea provinces. Having touched at Zeila, he
went on in April, 1878, to Harrar. Here he found Rauf, the Governor,
had been guilty, not only of oppression, but also of illegal trading
on his own account, and immediately dismissed him.
Fresh trouble now arose on the Abyssinian frontier. In March,
Walad Mikael attacked, defeated, and killed Johannes’s general,
Ras Barion, and got possession of Gordon’s letters, which revealed
his real intentions. Mikael had been enabled to make this raid by
the assistance rendered to him by Osman Pasha, Gordon’s Wakil,
who supplied him with ammunition, and in addition received a
congratulatory letter from the Khedive’s Minister of War, urging
him to press on his conquest. However, he did not follow this advice;
before long he came to terms with the King, and all seemed quiet
for a time, though further troubles were soon to crop up.
In July, 1878, Gordon heard of the revolt of Suleiman, Zubeir’s
son, and despatched an expedition under Gessi to put it down. The
history of Gessi’s campaign will be narrated later on.
The railway scheme at this time occupied the Governor-General’s
attention. He considered that the natural outlet for the Sudan
trade was from Berber to Suakin, and that the Nile railway idea
was visionary. Under Ismail Pasha the work had been commenced,
but had come to a standstill in 1877, after an expenditure of
some £450,000, and the completion of about 50 miles of line from
Wadi Halfa southward. Gordon’s proposal was to use the river
where navigable, for small steamers, and to lay tramways in the
intervening spaces. The Controllers, however, did not take up his
scheme, and the other affairs of his Government prevented him from
giving further attention to the subject.
At this time the operations for stopping the slave trade were in
active progress, as shown by the fact that within two months 14
caravans had been taken.
[Sidenote: 1878.]
Towards the end of 1878, the Khedive determined to take the Harrar
and Zeila districts out of Gordon’s control.
In December, Walad Mikael started to make his submission to King
Johannes, and the latter entered into further negotiations with
Gordon about the frontier.
One of the King’s demands was for an Abuna, or Archbishop. An Abuna
was and is always obtained from the Coptic Church at Alexandria,
and was the only person in Abyssinia who could ordain priests.
Gordon had some difficulty just then as to the disposal of 1,300
slave soldiers (“Bazingers”) who had remained faithful to
the Government, and finally decided on sending them under Nur Bey
Angara,[160] their chief, accompanied by two Europeans, to a zone of
country between Wadai and Darfur. These soldiers had been originally
kidnapped by Zubeir and trained to arms.
Though Gordon had pointed out that the destruction of Zubeir’s
force was the turning point in the slave trade question, he could
get no assistance from Cairo.
[Sidenote: The Slave Convention of August 4th, 1877.]
On August 4th, 1877, a Convention had been concluded between Great
Britain and Egypt, by which all public traffic in slaves was at once
prohibited, while the private trade in Egypt was to be suppressed in
1884, and in the Sudan in 1889. It is curious to note that although
it was well known that Zubeir was mainly responsible for the slave
trade of the past 10 years, yet he was now at Cairo being treated
as an honoured guest, and Nubar Pasha even offered to send him to
assist Gordon. The latter, however, declined the offer, and occupied
himself by appointing European Wakils to all the frontier posts.
[Sidenote: Gordon starts for Kordofan, March, 1879.]
In March, 1879, Gordon set out for Kordofan. Not only was the revolt
in full vigour in Bahr El Ghazal, but there were also risings in
Darfur and Kordofan. In the former, Harûn had once more appeared
on the scene, and in the latter, the insurgents were led by Subahi,
formerly one of Zubeir’s chiefs, who had taken to slave dealing on
his own account, had murdered the governor whom Gordon left at Edowa
(Eddaiya?), and gone to the hills, where the Egyptian troops under
Hassan Hilmi Pasha were making no efforts to attack him.
Gordon’s reasons for undertaking his present expedition were to help
Gessi, to prevent partisans of Zubeir in Kordofan sending aid to the
slave dealers, to cut off runaways, and to hinder Zubeir’s bands
breaking into Darfur and joining Harûn. At the end of March he went
to Edowa (Eddaiya), from which station Subahi with 400 men was only
four days distant. Many captures of slave caravans now took place,
the total number captured since June, 1878, being 63. Shakka was
reached on 7th April, where a message was received from Gessi, asking
for more troops and ammunition. Gordon now decided that it would be
prudent to reinstate the Sultan’s family in Darfur, in the person
of the son of Sultan Ibrahim, and telegraphed to the Khedive to send
him down, as at that time he was kept at Cairo. In December, 1877,
Gordon had found, imprisoned at Suakin, an ex-Vizier of Darfur; he
had liberated him and sent him back to the province. Now he appointed
him regent until the son of the deceased Sultan arrived from Cairo,
and wrote to Harûn pointing out the uselessness of his further
opposition, and inviting him to come in and assist to establish the
new Sultan. In a letter written at this time he makes the following
observation:—“If the liberation of slaves takes place in 1884 [in
Egypt proper], and the present system of government goes on, there
cannot fail to be a revolt of the whole country. . . . It is rather
amusing to think that the people of Cairo are quite oblivious that in
1884 their revenue will fall to one-half, and that the country will
need more troops to keep it quiet. Seven-eighths of the population of
the Sudan are slaves, and the loss of revenue in 1889 (the date fixed
for the liberation of the slaves in Egypt’s outlying territories)
will be more than two-thirds, if it is ever carried out.”
[Illustration: SUDANESE MAIDEN.]
[Sidenote: Gordon meets Gessi, June 25th, 1879.]
Gordon, leaving Shakka in April, went by Kalaka, Dara, El Fasher, to
Kolkol, which he reached on 26th May; here he relieved the garrison,
and returned to El Fasher. At the latter place he heard from Gessi
of the capture of Suleiman’s stronghold, and was about to start
for Khartoum, when learning that a force of Zubeir’s men was
_en route_ for Darfur, he returned to Taweisha, and, on June 25th,
he met Gessi who informed him that the last of the rebel bands had
been crushed. Leaving Gessi to follow up Suleiman, Gordon now left
for Khartoum.
GESSI’S CAMPAIGN, 1878.
[Sidenote: Revolt instigated by Zubeir, 1878.]
Before Zubeir had left for Cairo to push his claims to the
Governorship of Darfur, he had made his officers swear that if,
during his absence, he sent them word to conform to the arrangements
he had made under a certain tree, then they were to revolt.[161]
He accordingly did send them orders on finding that his claims were
not attended to. The extent of the insurrection was much larger
than generally supposed; the chief slave dealers had in their plans
apportioned out the provinces of the Sudan among themselves, and
even gave out that they would not stop short of Cairo. They were
backed up by numerous Arab tribes, and were powerful enough to tax
the whole strength of Egypt. It was from the Arabs that most of the
slave hunters were drawn, and they looked with scorn and hatred on
the Egyptian rule.
Colonel Gordon wrote:—“There is no doubt that if the Governments
of France and England do not pay more attention to the Sudan—if
they do not establish at Khartoum a branch of the mixed tribunals,
and see that justice is done, the disruption of the Sudan from Cairo
is only a question of time. This disruption, moreover, will not
end the troubles, for the Sudanese, through their allies in Lower
Egypt—the black soldiers, I mean—will carry on their efforts in
Cairo itself. Now, these black soldiers are the only troops in the
Egyptian service worth anything.”
[Sidenote: July, 1878, expedition organised by Gessi.]
In July, 1878, Gordon, hearing that the son of Zubeir (Suleiman) had
seized the province of Bahr El Ghazal, at once sent up an expedition
commanded by Gessi.
Gessi started up the river, and on his way met with many slave
nuggars, and even Government steamers, plying the slave trade under
the eyes and with the connivance of the Egyptian Wakils. He first
went to Shambe to collect reinforcements, and then struck off in the
direction of Rumbek on the river Rohl. His march was greatly impeded
by floods, and it was not till the first week in September that he
reached the above-named place. Here he heard of the open revolt of
Suleiman, who had surprised and massacred the troops at Deim Idris,
and was laying the country waste in all directions. The Arabs now
began to join Suleiman in large numbers, and his army soon numbered
about 6,000 men, Gessi in the meantime had but 300 regulars, 2 guns,
and 700 irregular troops; his communication with Khartoum was almost
closed by the _sudd_ in the river, which, moreover, together with the
rains, caused the whole surrounding country to be flooded and made
marching impossible. He accordingly fortified himself at Rumbek till
November. He occupied the time in regenerating the province which he
found labouring under gross abuses and a staff of corrupt officials.
[Sidenote: November, 1879.]
[Sidenote: Suleiman attacks Gessi, 28th December, 1879.]
[Sidenote: Second attack, 12th January, 1879.]
[Sidenote: Third attack, 28th and 29th January, 1879.]
He was at length able to leave Rumbek on the 17th November, and,
after having met with some hostility from the natives on the River
Jur, arrived at the Wau on 5th December, where he established a
station. He found Suleiman had carried off upwards of 10,000 women
and children, and the inhabitants about Wau were greatly incensed
against the slave dealers. Having received reinforcements and
been joined by a friendly Sheikh, Gessi marched for Deim Idris,
which he reached about the middle of December. Suleiman was on
his way towards Shakka, thinking himself protected by the floods
from an attack from the south, but hearing of Gessi’s arrival at
Rumbek he at once turned to attack him with 10,000 men. The attack
took place on the 28th December, but was repulsed with great loss
after severe fighting. On 12th January, 1879, Suleiman, having been
reinforced, again assaulted Gessi’s post, and after two days’
heavy fighting was again driven back. Gessi in the meantime was
running very short of ammunition, but in spite of this repulsed a
third attack on the 28th and 29th of January. On 11th March, having
received some ammunition, he attacked the stronghold of Suleiman,
which was constructed of wooden huts and barricades made of trunks
of trees. Having set fire to the whole by means of rockets he met
and utterly routed the brigands as they sallied out, but had not
sufficient ammunition to pursue them. By the beginning of February,
Gessi had cleared off many of the slave dealers, and had liberated
more than 10,000 of their captives; the result being that confidence
was being rapidly restored, and the headmen of tribes were giving
their allegiance to the Government.
[Sidenote: Deim Suleiman taken by Gessi, 4th May, 1880.]
On 1st May Gessi having received further reinforcements, marched on
Deim Suleiman, which he took by assault three days later, capturing
much booty. Suleiman himself escaped, and took refuge in a village
some distance off. On the 9th May Gessi with 600 men started in
pursuit, and after nine days’ absence returned to Deim Suleiman in
triumph, having taken many of the slave dealers, although Suleiman,
with Rabeh and Sultan Idris, two noted leaders, had escaped.
[Sidenote: Suleiman captured, 15th July, 1880.]
Though much had been done, the revolt was not, as Gessi thought,
completely crushed, and in a few weeks, hearing that Suleiman
was meditating a junction with Harûn, he at once went again in
pursuit. On the night of the 15th July he surprised the enemy, and
although he had only 290 men to their 700, he contrived to conceal
the fact, and induced Suleiman to lay down his arms. Fearing that,
by plotting with the rebel Abdelgassin, who was at no great distance,
the prisoners might escape, he shot the 11 ringleaders, including
Suleiman, and dismissed their men to their new countries. Gessi had
now broken the neck of the revolt, and aided by the tribes whose
families he had freed from slavery, he hunted down the remaining
bands. Abdelgassin was caught and shot, and only Rabeh escaped to
the west, where he eventually carved a kingdom for himself near Lake
Chad, and was killed by the French in 1901 (_v._ Baron Oppenheim’s
Monograph).
GORDON’S MISSION TO ABYSSINIA, 1879.
In August, Gordon arrived at Cairo and conferred with the new Khedive,
Tewfik, on affairs in Abyssinia. Walad Mikael and Johannes’s
general, Alula, were now plotting a joint attack on Bogos, and
Gordon’s proposal that he should at once go and endeavour to settle
matters with the King was eagerly accepted by the Khedive.
[Sidenote: Gordon goes to Abyssinia, 1879.]
He landed at Massaua on 6th September, 1879, and finding that Bogos
was practically in the hands of the Abyssinians, started on the 11th
to meet Alula. The next day he heard that Alula, by the King’s
orders, had made a prisoner of Walad el Mikael and all his officers,
and that Mikael’s son had been killed. On the 16th Gordon reached
Gura, the rendezvous, and, at an interview with Alula, requested
him to state the complaints of Abyssinia against Egypt. Alula,
on the 18th, replied that he had better see the King himself, and
Gordon accordingly left the following day for Debra Tabor, near
Gondar. He arrived there on the 27th October. On the 28th October,
the King stated his claims as follows:—“You want peace; well,
I want retrocession of Gallabat, Beni Shangul, and Bogos, cession of
Zeila and Amfila (ports), an Abuna,[162] and a sum of money from one
to two million pounds; or, if his Highness likes better than paying
money, then I will take Bogos, Massaua, and the Abuna. I could claim
Dongola, Berber, Nubia, and Sennar, but will not do so. Also I want
certain territory near Harrar.” Gordon asked him to put these
demands in writing, and give the Khedive six months for reply. But
the King would give no satisfactory answer. On the 6th November
there was another interview. The King had evidently been put up
to his first demands by the Greek Consul at Suez, who was with him
at the time, and now neither liked to withdraw his demands, nor to
put them in writing. After some further delays, the King at length
gave Gordon a letter and let him go, which he accordingly did, and
started for Gallabat, intending to go to Khartoum. Before reaching
Gallabat, however, the King had him arrested and brought back through
Abyssinia. He reached Massaua, after much privation, on 8th December,
and then ended his connection with the Sudan and Abyssinia.
Shortly before his departure he had given up the district Unyoro,
and the stations of Mruli, Kodj, Foweira, Keroto, and Magunga were
accordingly evacuated by Egyptian troops. Masindi and Kisima had been
given up two years before. The Somerset Nile was now the boundary
of the Khedive’s territory, and new stations were formed to defend
it, whilst the province of Makaraka was also incorporated. Dr. Emin
Bey had been made Governor of the Equatorial provinces, with his
headquarters at Lado, and under him were the three Mudirs of Makaraka,
Kiri, and Magunga. Many improvements had been made in these provinces,
and Lado was greatly increased in size and importance.
Rauf Pasha was Gordon’s successor at Khartoum, while a second pasha
was given the government of Massaua and the adjacent coast, and a
third was appointed to Berbera, Zeila, and the Harrar district. As
Gordon pointed out to the Khedive, King Johannes was too much occupied
with internal affairs to be able to give further trouble on the border
for the present; but in the summer of 1880 the Somalis revolted,
and Egyptian troops had to be sent to aid the Governor of Harrar.
Gessi, as Governor of the Bahr El Ghazal, was most successful; he
had completely stamped out the slave trade, done much to encourage
agriculture, and revived to a great extent the ivory trade.
On the departure of Gordon, however, and in the absence of a strong
central government, the slave dealers again showed themselves in
other parts, and before long slave caravans were once more on their
road to Lower Egypt and the ports of the Red Sea.
[Sidenote: Railway scheme again entertained, 1880.]
Early in 1880 the railway scheme again seems to have occupied the
attention of the Khedive, who then visited the Sudan, and expressed
himself strongly in favour of a line from Berber to Suakin.
[Sidenote: Gessi’s death, 30th April, 1881.]
In September, 1880, Gessi, finding his position intolerable under
Rauf Pasha, Governor-General of the Sudan, resigned his post, and,
after having suffered great hardships on the way, on account of the
steamers being stopped by the _sudd_, he at last reached Khartoum;
meeting with a cold reception there, he managed to get to Suez,
where he soon after died, 30th April, 1881, from the effects of the
suffering he had endured. Lupton Bey, an Englishman,[163] succeeded
him in the governorship of the Bahr El Ghazal.
In April, 1882, the Sudan was reorganised on paper, and was to be
again under one Governor-General with four subordinate governors
for the West Sudan, Central Sudan, East Sudan, and province of
Harrar. Schools and seats of justice were to be established, and
special arrangements to be made for the suppression of the slave
trade.
INSURRECTION OF THE FALSE PROPHET, 1881.
[Sidenote: The Mahdi.]
The next great cause of disturbance in the Sudan was the appearance
of the False Prophet.
For many years the creed of Mohammed had been making immense strides
in Central Africa, where it seems to have a peculiar fascination
for the native races; and high authorities estimate the number of
converts to this religion at from eight to twelve millions. The idea
of the regeneration of Islam by force of arms had gained a strong hold
over the enthusiasm of these new converts, and on the appearance of
the False Prophet in August, 1881, thousands flocked to his standard.
The person in question was a Sheikh named Mohammed Ahmed, the son
of a carpenter, and a native of Dongola. He was born about the year
1848, and educated in a village near Khartoum, where he studied
religion. In 1870 he became a Sheikh, and after a short stay at
Kaka, near Kodok, he finally took up his residence on the Island of
Aba. Here his influence much increased, he gradually acquired a great
reputation for sanctity, and in time assembled a considerable number
of dervishes or holy men around him. He augmented his influence by
marrying daughters of the leading Sheikhs of the Baggara, and by
his power and tact succeeded in merging together the various tribes.
The principles of his teachings were universal equality, universal law
and religion, with a community of goods. All who refused to credit his
mission were to be destroyed, whether Christian, Mohammedan, or Pagan.
The causes of the rebellion were ascribed to—
1. The venality of the officials, and the oppressive and unjust
manner of collecting the taxes.
2. The suppression of the slave trade. Most of the supporters of the
Mahdi, more especially the Baggara tribes, owed all their wealth to
their traffic in slaves.
3. The military weakness of Egypt. This was not, however, any real
cause of rebellion, as the troops in the Sudan would have been
sufficient, had they been properly handled.
[Sidenote: 1881. May.]
In May 1881 the Mahdi first advanced his claims to being the prophet
foretold by Mohammed.
[Sidenote: July.]
In July Rauf Pasha, then Governor of the Sudan, had his attention
drawn to these pretensions. The Mahdi was then living at Marabia,
near the Island of Aba.
[Sidenote: August.]
In August he publicly proclaimed his mission during the Feast
of Ramadan, and small parties of troops were sent to dispose of
him, but failed to do so. He first showed himself in force in the
neighbourhood of Sennar, and then took refuge in the Shilluk country,
finally taking up his position at Jebel Gedir, about 90 miles west
of Kaka on the White Nile.
[Sidenote: 9th December.]
A force of 350 regulars, under one Rashid Bey, attacked the Mahdi,
but were defeated with loss.
The latter, having recruited his force, began early in spring to
threaten the province of Kordofan.
[Sidenote: 1882. 4th March.]
Rauf Pasha was now recalled, and Abd el Gader appointed in his
place. Pending the arrival of the latter, Giegler Pasha was
temporarily appointed.
[Sidenote: April.]
In April a concentration of troops was directed on Kaka, and 3,000
men collected there, whereby the garrisons throughout the country
were much reduced.
[Sidenote: May.]
The rebels, taking advantage of this concentration, attacked Sennar,
and had many minor successes in that part of the country, until they
were dispersed by Giegler Pasha, who arrived about the middle of May.
[Sidenote: 11th May.]
Abd el Kader reached Khartoum on the 11th May.
[Sidenote: 14th May.]
On the 14th the Egyptian troops were successful in an action near
El Obeid, the result of which, however, was unimportant.
Towards the end of May Yusef Pasha, Governor of Kodok, was ordered to
march with the force from Kaka against the Mahdi, who was in the hills
at Gedir. After great delays, Yusef set out with a large disorganised
force of several thousand men and swarms of camp-followers; but the
rains had begun, and progress was slow.
[Sidenote: 7th June.]
On the 7th June, the Egyptian army came face to face with the rebels
in a densely wooded country. A zeriba was commenced, and the troops
were formed up in hollow square, but the rebels broke in upon them,
defeated, and utterly destroyed the whole force.
This crushing defeat placed the Egyptian Government in a critical
position, and gave great impetus to the insurrection.
The Mahdi now sent a portion of his army, under Wad el Makashif,
across the White Nile by the ford of Abu Zeid, to threaten Sennar. He
remained himself for some weeks at Gedir, though detachments of his
following were raiding in Kordofan.
[Sidenote: 24th June.]
On the 24th June the rebels attacked Bara, but were repulsed with
heavy loss.
[Sidenote: 17th June.]
On the 17th an attack was made on Um Shanga, in Darfur, but was
likewise repulsed; but towards Shakka an Egyptian force of 1,000
men was almost annihilated on the 20th July.
Many minor engagements were fought upon the lines of communication
between Kordofan and Dueim, which resulted in favour of the rebels.
[Sidenote: August.]
At the beginning of August the Mahdi, with the bulk of his forces,
was at Jebel Gedir; a second army was wasting Kordofan; a third
stretched along the White Nile from Dueim to Geziret Aba on the
north-east, and from Kaka to Marabia on the east bank.
[Sidenote: 19th August.]
The rebels were defeated at Bara, and El Obeid was revictualled.
[Sidenote: 23rd August.]
On the 23rd Dueim was attacked, but the rebels were here driven back
with a loss of 4,500 men; and Makashif, who was advancing on Khartoum,
was also defeated with heavy loss about the same time.
[Sidenote: 4th, 5th, 6th September.]
The Mahdi now took the field in person and advanced on El Obeid. On
three successive days, he made desperate assaults on the garrison,
but on each occasion he was repulsed with great slaughter. The rebels
are said to have had 10,000 men killed, while the Egyptian loss is
put down at 288. These disasters caused great loss of prestige to the
Mahdi, who had never heretofore been defeated when personally leading.
[Sidenote: 24th September.]
A relief column of about 2,000 men was now sent from Dueim under Ali
Bey Satfi, and was directed on Bara. This column had two engagements
with the enemy, in the first of which it was successful, but the
second time was defeated with a loss of 1,130 men, the survivors
making good their retreat to Bara.
[Illustration: _By kind permission of Lekegian, Cairo._
MAJOR-GENERAL SIR RUDOLF VON SLATIN PASHA.]
[Sidenote: 9th, 10th October. 10th November.]
In October Bara was attacked with great determination on two
successive days, but the rebels were driven off with great loss. The
Mahdi then blockaded both El Obeid and Bara. About this time an
expedition under a Sheikh, sent against Dueim, was defeated, and
the leader captured and hung at Khartoum.
At the end of the year El Obeid had a garrison of 3,000 men, and
Bara 2,000; both were reported to be well provisioned. Reinforcements
were daily arriving at Khartoum.
[Footnote 153: For subsequent Governors-General, _vide_ p. 280.]
[Footnote 154: On a journey from the East Coast.]
[Footnote 155: Dr. Emin Bey.]
[Footnote 156: “Provinces of the Equator,” published by the
Egyptian General Staff.]
[Footnote 157: _See_ p. 184.]
[Footnote 158: Zubeir Pasha was permitted to return to the Sudan
shortly after the fall of Omdurman (1898) and now resides at Geili
on the Nile, about 30 miles north of Khartoum.]
[Footnote 159: Edward Schnitzer.]
[Footnote 160: Surrendered to Colonel Parsons at Gedaref (1898),
and now living at Omdurman.]
[Footnote 161: This is altogether denied by Zubeir Pasha, and the
Conference between him and Gordon in Cairo (1884) goes to show
that there are two sides to this story. Slatin Pasha in “Fire and
Sword” explains the other side. (F. R. W.)]
[Footnote 162: Archbishop.]
[Footnote 163: Captain of a Red Sea merchant steamer.]
[Illustration: _By London Stereoscopic Company._
GENERAL GORDON.]
(_To face page_ 247.)