# Southern Policy Memorandum (25 January 1930)

URL: https://allhistories.com/sudan/timeline/1930-southern-policy-memorandum
Location: Khartoum, Sudan
Themes: main-event

A memorandum issued in January 1930 by Civil Secretary Harold MacMichael set out a Southern Policy for Sudan. It called for separating the southern provinces from the north, replacing Arabic with local languages and English, and encouraging the development of African cultures and Christianity, supported by missions, so that the south could eventually connect with British East Africa. Officials opposed the spread of Arabic and Islam into the south. The policy was influenced by officials' fear of northern Islamic expansion and the example of indirect rule in Uganda. It strengthened the Closed Districts approach, and the south saw little development. In 1946 it was reversed in favour of a united Sudan, leaving southerners weakly prepared and distrustful of northern leadership. The new policy also called for the use of English and local languages and the withdrawal of northern merchants, alongside efforts to coordinate missions with the government. At the date of this event the principal authority over the largest part of historic Sudan, by the convention of this dataset, lay with John Maffey, Governor-General of Sudan (1926–1934). The memorandum is widely seen as a root cause of Sudan's deep north-south divide. The long-term effect was to deepen differences of language, religion and development that persisted after independence and gave southerners little voice in national politics. The memorandum is widely seen as a root cause of Sudan's deep north-south divide and of southern fears about northern domination.

## Why it matters
The Southern Policy formalised separation of the south from the north.

Ruler at the Time: [John Maffey](https://allhistories.com/sudan/rulers/john-maffey)

## Sources
- [Anglo-Egyptian Sudan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglo-Egyptian_Sudan)
- [History of Sudan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Sudan)
- [Sudan](https://www.britannica.com/place/Sudan)