Equatoria

Equatoria (Arabic الاستوائية al - Istiwa'iyya, English Equatoria ) was until 1956 a province of the Anglo -Egyptian Sudan, then until 1976 a province and from 1991 to 1994, a state of the Republic of Sudan. Today, the area forms a part of the 2011 resulting state of South Sudan.

History

19th century

It originated in the attempt of the British -dominated Egypt to build a model state in the center of Africa. Equatoria basically consisted of little more than a handful of adventurers in some isolated outpost. They were stationed at no time more than 600 soldiers in the province. In addition to the areas they now South Sudan at that time consisted also parts of present-day Uganda.

Equatoria was created in 1870 by Samuel White Baker, who had been commissioned by the Egyptian government with the establishment of trading posts on the upper White Nile. He left the post Gondokoro secure and named it in honor of the Khedive Ismail Pasha ruling order in Ismailia. In this area lived numerous partly related ethnic groups with their own chiefs, including the Acholi, Azande, Bari, Lotuko, Madi, Moru, Mundari, Pojulu and Toposa. Furthermore, the area of Arab slave traders was crossed.

1874 Charles George Gordon governor, then governor-general of the entire Turkish -Egyptian Sudan. 1878 followed Eduard Schnitzer, called Emin Pasha. The Mahdi revolt of Muhammad Ahmad in the 1880s Equatoria separated from Egypt and several European expeditions were organized to rescue Emin Pasha. Then collected until 1898, the Mahdi's control over the area. Important settlements in Equatoria were Lado in the Ladoenklave, Gondokoro and Wadelai.

About the Name in the 19th century

The naming should underpin the Anglo -Egyptian claim to much larger areas, Charles Gordon and Emin Pasha visited adjacent regions and examined the possibility of extension of territory to the south. Due to the Mahdi uprising, however, these plans could not be pursued and Wadelai (now in northern Uganda ) remained at 2 ° 50 ' N of the southernmost point of the province, which touched the equator nowhere.

Administrative unit in the 20th century

In the Anglo -Egyptian Sudan Equatoria was one of the eight original provinces. 1948, the Bahr al - Ghazal region was separated in the Northwest as a separate province of Equatoria. In 1976, the province was divided again into Eastern and Westäquatoria. From 1991 to 1994, a state of Equatoria has been created which resembled within the limits of the province of Equatoria 1948-1976. On 14 February 1994 Equatoria was again split, this time in the states of al - Istiwa'iyya al - wusta ( Central Equatoria ), Gharb al - Istiwa'iyya ( Western Equatoria ) and Sharq al - Istiwa'iyya ( Eastern Equatoria ).

Part of South Sudan

The region was the scene of two civil wars to the secession of South Sudan, as well as a retreat Ugandan anti-government militia groups such as the Lord's Resistance Army and the West Nile Bank Front in the 20th and early 21st century. After the end of the second civil war and the independence referendum in South Sudan 2011, the three Equatoria provinces together formed with the regions Bahr el Ghazal and Upper Nile Great the new state of South Sudan.