Slavery has been an institution of Sudanese life throughout history, but Southern Sudan, where slavery particularly flourishes, has long been considered an area beyond Cairo's control.

Because Sudan is close to Middle Eastern slave markets, it is a natural supplier of captives.

Consequently, the slave trade in the South intensifies in the nineteenth century and continues after the British have suppressed slaving in much of sub-Saharan Africa.

Annual raids result in the capture of count­less thousands of Southern Sudanese and the destruction of the region's economy and stability.

The horrors associated with the slave trade generate European interest in Sudan.