French Sudan elections held in French Sudan in 1957, the African Democratic Rally ("Rassemblement Démocratique Africain", commonly known as the RDA) won the elections in French Sudan, as well as winning majorities in neighboring Ivory Coast, French Guinea, and the Upper Volta. Following the French constitutional referendum of 1958, of which received an overwhelming majority in support, the "République Soudanaise" declared itself a republic with internal autonomy on 24 November 1958. The Sudanese Republic, as the area was now called, was the second colony after Madagascar to join the French Community, which provided it internal autonomy while linking its currency, foreign policy
History of South Sudan million having fled to neighboring countries, especially Uganda and Sudan. General: History of South Sudan The history of South Sudan comprises the history of the territory of present-day South Sudan and the peoples inhabiting the region. South Sudan seceded from the Republic of Sudan in 2011. Geographically, South Sudan is not part of the Sudan region at all (the Sahel), forming as it does part of Sub-Saharan Africa. In modern terminology, it does, however, include parts of the East Sudanian Savanna. Its inclusion in "Sudan" is due to the southward expansion of the Ottoman Khedivate of Egypt in the 19th