Fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Force in Khartoum, the capital of the Sudan, has continued in recent days, resulting in 83 deaths and 1,126 injuries in the Sudanese armed conflict. The unrest in Sudan instantly attracted widespread international attention, Sudan is a country that is really chaotic, and there are no peaceful days of armed conflict one after another.
But you know what? Sudan has conquered Egypt in its history, and more than 100 years ago, the "governor" of the Chinese Qing Dynasty, who was also the British governor who ransacked the Old Summer Palace, died here.
3rd in area in Africa, one of the least developed countries in the world
Sudan is located in northeastern Africa, on the Red Sea coast, at the eastern end of the Sahara Desert. With a land area of 1.88 million square kilometers, it is the third largest country in Africa and the 15th largest in the world. The capital, Khartoum, has a total population of about 44.91 million, and the main ethnic groups include Arabs, Bejas, Fur, Nuba and blacks, of which 70% are Arabs.
It is one of the world's least developed countries announced by the United Nations, with a single economic structure, a weak foundation, backward industry, and strong dependence on the natural environment and foreign aid. In 2021, Sudan's GDP was only $35.9 billion, and its per capita GDP was only $790.
Sudan's location in North Africa
The displacement of the sultan struggled with conquest and resistance
The ancient sultans (before 650 AD) were called Nubia in ancient times. King Pianchi of Kushi (reigned about 751~716 BC) conquered Egypt, and the Arabs occupied Egypt in 639 AD. In 651, Egypt began its invasion of Nubia, and by the 15th century northern Sudan had been Arabized.
From 1821 to 1881, the sultan under Turkish and Egyptian rule, Muhammad Ali, the nominal governor of Egypt (1805-1848), who was under the Ottoman Empire, took control of Egypt and sent troops in 1821 to conquer the tribes along the Nile in Sudan.
Map of Sudan
In the 40s of the 19th century, the upper reaches of the White Nile began to be navigable. European explorers, merchants, and missionaries flocked to the coast to loot slaves and loot ivory. In the 60s, in order to continue to expand into southern Sudan and suppress the resistance of the southwestern people, the Egyptian rulers forcibly occupied southern Sudan by force under the pretext of prohibiting plundering and slave trading.
In the 70s, British colonists such as Baker and Gordon carried out barbaric conquests in Sudan and brutally suppressed the people's rebellion.
Gordon the Governor of the Great Qing Dynasty and Governor-General of England appears
Gordon, Charles George (28 January 1833 – 26 January 1885) was a Victorian general of British engineers. Known as the "firefighting captain" of the British overseas colonies, he had a very rich early experience, and in 1855 he was sent to Balaklava (now part of Ukraine), and then stayed in Asia Minor. He came to China in 1860 during the Second Opium War and participated in the occupation of Beijing and the burning of the Old Summer Palace.
Burning the Old Summer Palace has a blood debt from him
Afterwards, Gordon specifically mentioned his participation in the burning of the Old Summer Palace in a letter to his sister:
We came out [from the Old Summer Palace] and after looting it, we burned the whole Old Summer Palace and burned the most precious property that could not be bought for 4 million pounds in a deliberate way. We were each rewarded with at least £48 and I did a beautiful job myself. The locals were polite, but I think those courtiers would hate us, and after everything we did to the Old Summer Palace, they would definitely hate us.
You can't imagine how beautiful and majestic the places we burned were. Burning them is really heartbreaking. In fact, the place is very big, and our time is very tight, so we can't loot carefully. A large number of gold jewelry were burned as copper nuggets. For an army, this is indeed a despicable and morally corrupt act.
The Old Summer Palace was looted by the Anglo-French army
From this letter to his relatives, it can be seen that Gordon also regretted his burning of the Old Summer Palace, a world treasure, but at the same time he showed the pleasure of conquest at his robbery of burning and looting.
Gordon and Li Hongzhang
He took over the foreign gun team and became Li Hongzhang's confidant
In 1862, the Western powers and the Qing government jointly suppressed the Taiping Rebellion and formed a foreign rifle team, which soon conquered Jiading and Qingpu around Shanghai. However, in the Battle of Cixi in September of that year, Hua Er himself was killed by the Taiping Army in battle, and another American, Henry Andre Baijuwen, replaced Hua Er as the leader of the foreign gun team.
But because Bai Juwen was arrogant and an alcoholic, he quickly fell out with Qing officials. Li Hongzhang, who had just served as the governor of Jiangsu at the time, quickly came forward to ask Stipley to replace the commander of the foreign rifle team.
Gordon and Li Hongzhang take a group photo
In this case, Stitchley chose Gordon, who had just been promoted to major at the time. Gordon soon reorganized the foreign rifle team and provided important support to Li Hongzhang's army in Changshu, so he was regarded as a confidant by Li Hongzhang. After this, Gordon led the foreign rifle team to fight the Taiping Army in Kunshan, Wujiang, Gusu, Changzhou, Liyang and Wuxing many times, and achieved a series of victories.
He was crowned Governor Yellow Horse Coat, and the scenery was incomparable
However, on the recommendation of Li Hongzhang, in May 1864, Gordon was appointed governor of Changzhou by the empresses Dowager Ci'an and Cixi of the Qing Dynasty, and wore a yellow horse coat. And this process also made him the subject of several British newspaper reports, and became famous in the United Kingdom and became a household star.
Gordon wears a yellow coat
After returning to China, Gordon went to Istanbul, Egypt, Congo and other places, and in July 1880 went to Beijing to meet Li Hongzhang and help mediate the conflict between the Qing Dynasty's northwestern frontier and Tsarist Russia.
The firefighting captain once again embarked on the point of no return in Sudan
After his departure, the situation in Sudan continued to deteriorate, and the local people launched a large-scale uprising under the leadership of the chief Mahdi, and the British and Egypt were unable to respond, so the British reappointed Gordon as the governor of Sudan and sent him back to Sudan to evacuate the British. In January 1884, Gordon arrived in Cairo; In Cairo, he was again appointed governor and set out on the road of no return to Khartoum.
Gordon in Sudan (stills)
The bloodthirsty and warlike Gordon has always been on the brink of danger, and this time he will not be as lucky as in China. He was reluctant to accept the defeat of the British in Sudan, and by this time the British government had withdrawn from Sudan in April 1884, and he was alone without military support, and soon the Sudanese capital Khartoum was completely surrounded by Mahdi rebels. However , Gordon was unwilling to admit defeat at this time , and remained in Khartoum with some of his own soldiers and Egyptian defenders in the area to resist.
Gordon and the rebels exchange fire (stills)
A generation of heroes were beheaded for public display
News of his ongoing battle with the Mahdi rebels in Khartoum also quickly caused a stir in Britain, where the British, still fanatical about colonial expansion, soon began asking the government to rescue Gordon. Eventually, under domestic pressure, the British government sent another army to invade Sudan in November of that year. But it was too late, and on January 26, 1885, Khartoum was captured, and Gordon was quickly beheaded for public display.
Gordon was surrounded by the rebels
Although British reinforcements recaptured Khartoum from the rebels 2 days later, the British only found his body, and his head has not been found. After his death, he was once hailed as a saint in Europe and the United States, and the then British Prime Minister William Gladstone was even forced to step down because of the unfavorable request for Gordon.
Gordon, a legendary man, was rewarded with a yellow horsecoat in the Great Qing Dynasty and became the governor of Changzhou, and also held a high position in North Africa to become a governor, traveling to various British colonies in Asia and Africa, and Gordon's death was also a landmark event in which Britain's national power began to decline from prosperity. This executioner who once burned the Old Summer Palace got the end he deserved.
After reading this article, if you feel that you have gained something, welcome to follow and not get lost, and welcome to like and comment interaction. Your support is the motivation for our update, thank you for watching!