ABSTRACT
A Sudan Defence Force consisting solely of Sudanese troops and financed by an Egyptian subvention, willingly granted as a vestigial token of Egypt's joint rule, was established under a British commander, the sirdarship and governor-generalship having finally been separated. The centralizing impact of the Turco-Egyptian and Mahdist regimes and, indeed, of the direct methods employed since the Anglo-Egyptian conquest, had, however, weakened or destroyed both of these prerequisites, with a few exceptions such as among the Kababish. The British settlement of the crisis had removed the Egyptian factor from Sudan politics, further obviating the necessity to the government of the educated class's allegiance. The adoption of Indirect Rule had an even greater significance in the southern Sudan than in the north. The government itself feared the consequences of increased Egyptian influence which might well lead to another crisis like that of 1924.
