A popular history of Wau (Bahr el Ghazal - Sudan): from its foundation to about 1940

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Title:	A popular history of Wau (Bahr el Ghazal - Sudan): from its foundation to about 1940
Author:	Santandrea, Stefano
Year:	1977
Language:	English
City of publisher:	Rome
Geographic terms:	Sudan South Sudan
Subjects:	urban history towns
Abstract:	History of Wau (Wou, Waou), capital of Bahr el Ghazal Province (Sudan), formerly called colloquially 'Bog', from its foundation to about 1940. The author, who lived in Wau from 1928 to 1957, investigates the origin of the name 'Wau' and looks for references to Wau in the works of 19th-century travellers such as Petherick, Piaggia, Theodore von Heughlin, George Schweinfurth, Gessi, and Wilhelm Junker. He tells the story of the French occupation of Wau, renamed Fort Desaix, at the end of 1897, and paints a picture of life in Wau under the Condominium, as described in notes by D.C.F. Comyn, one-time district commissioner, preserved in government archives, and in mission publications. He also describes, amongst others, the composition of the population, the role of the mission, the different peoples and tribal groups living in and around Wau and the relations between them, and developments in Wau in the period 1930-1940 under the Anglo-Egyptian government's 'Southern policy', including the redistribution of tribes and the reorganization of Wau town.