ABSTRACT
During the later years of the Khalifa’s rule the Sudan was struck by continuous famine. Many of the cultivators of the Gezira, the most fertile part of the country, were partially expropriated to make room for the Baqqāra immigrants. Agriculture was not only over taxed, but also ravaged by the ill-disciplined and starving Mahdist soldiers. The immediate resumption of cultivation was essential both economically and politically, and was regarded by the authorities as the best guarantee for peace. To achieve this, cultivators had to be assured that the ownership of their lands would not be challenged by the new authorities. Furthermore, land speculators had to be warned not to purchase land from its previous owners who had fled from the Sudan during the Mahdia and whose claims of ownership could not be acknowledged without evicting the present cultivators. A Khedivial decree was therefore promulgated in April 1897, which provided for the compulsory registration of titles. 1
