Uganda: the country in brief

Area: 91,134 square miles Population: 17,477,000 Capital: Kampala (population: 773,000) Language: English, Swahili, Luganda Religion: Roman Catholic, Protestant, Traditional Literacy: 48% Life expectancy: 51 years Economy: Industry, processing agricultural, textiles, fertilizers, steel. Export crops include coffee, cotton, corn, tea, sugar, and tobacco. Per capita income: US$220.00

Geography and Overview

Traversed from east to west by the equator and from north to south by the east and west forks of the Great Rift Valley, the small country of Uganda lies in the heart of Africa. It encompasses much of the beauty, wildness, and variety of the entire continent. With the sprawling rainforests of the Congo Basin to the west, Lake Victoria to the south, the semi-arid deserts of the Sahel to the north, and the acacia savannahs of the vast Serengeti ecosystem to the east, Uganda is a microcosm of Africa’s wildlife and environments.

Uganda is not as tourist-oriented as many of its more well-known neighbors. The renaissance of its natural history tourism industry is in its infancy, creating excitement and challenges for tour and tour operators. There are not so many hotels or people trained as tour guides; however, the existing accommodation is of a good quality and the people are extremely friendly and enthusiastic about the possibilities of their developing nation.

Brief history of Uganda

It is reasonable to assume that people have been living in the region now known as Uganda for millions of years. Until about 3,000 years ago, most of Uganda was probably occupied by hunter-gatherers. Later, between 2,000 and 3,000 years ago, Bantu speakers arrived in Uganda from West Africa. Oral tradition and archaeological evidence indicate that a centralized form of government may have existed in the region south of the Nile and west of Lake Victoria as early as AD 1000. C. This was the Kingdom of the Batembuzi, whose contemporary leaders continue to be applauded godlike status in certain parts of Uganda.

Batembuzi’s history is shrouded in myth and legend, but the balance of evidence suggests that they were Bantu practicing a mixed economy and ruling for at least nine generations. The Batembuzi were succeeded by the Bachwezi. Current knowledge of East African population movements suggests that the Bachwezi were Kushite immigrants from Ethiopia; a widely held belief is that the Bachwezi introduced the long-horned Ankole cattle that are so characteristic of southern Uganda today. The Bachwezi ruled for only two generations (approximately AD 1350–1400); however, they are still revered in parts of Uganda, and their leaders remain at the center of ancient worship cults to this day.

Bachwezi’s rule seems to have ended with the arrival of the Luo-speaking Nilotics from Sudan. Oral tradition suggests that the Luo leader, Rukidi, formed what became known as the Babito dynasty. Rudiki adopted many aspects of Bachwezi’s rituals and social structure, quickly integrating his people into the local Bantu-speaking population. Several of the modern dynasties of western Uganda, including Banyoro and Ankole, trace their origins to Rukidi.

In the late 16th century, near present-day Kampala, a Bantu speaker named Kintu established the Kingdom of Buganda. Buganda’s oral history identifies at least 35 successive Kabaka (kings), the last of whom, Kabaka Mutesa II, died in exile in London in the 1960s after former Prime Minister Milton Obote outlawed the Kingdom of Buganda. . The royal line was recently re-established when the Kingdom of Buganda was re-established and the 36th Kabaka, Ronald Mutebi, was crowned in 1993. Today’s President Yoweri Museveni agreed to call the King of Buganda home, who continues as titular and cultural leader from Buganda. Kingdom.

From 1600 to relatively recent times, regional politics has been dominated by territorial rivalry between Buganda, Bunyoro, and Ankole.

Arab slave traders arrived in southern Uganda in the mid-19th century. Buganda was then the most important kingdom and was ruled by Kabaka Mutesa. Mutesa allowed slave traders to operate from his capital, and he collaborated with them by helping to organize slave raiding parties. Mutesa presumably did this to consolidate Buganda’s rule over neighboring kingdoms. Muslim traders converted several chiefs of the Bugandan clan to their faith. When the Arabs were joined by two rival missionary factions, French Catholics and British Protestants, attracting more clan chiefs who departed from traditional beliefs, Mutesa’s court became a hotbed of religious rivalries and quickly dissolved. . Tensions were aggravated by threats from neighboring kingdoms.

Rival European powers were eager to gain control of the well-watered and extremely fertile kingdom of Buganda; however, Buganda became a British protectorate in 1892. The Kabaka’s powers were handed over to a group of Anglophile Christian chiefs. The modern shape of Uganda was more or less decided by the Buganda Agreement of 1900, which effectively brought the entire country under joint British-Bugadan rule. The colonial government formed centralized legislative and executive councils, while Baganda officials were appointed to regional posts.

The Buganda Accord antagonized non-Bagandan leaders. The Banyoro leaders refused to cooperate with the Bagandan officials, who were expelled from Banyoro. After the British intervention, the Bagandan officials were reinstated. Few Europeans settled in the country, but Asian settlement was encouraged, and this small Asian community soon dominated the economy. Between the two world wars, non-Bagandan leaders put increasing pressure on the colonial administration to end Bagandan rule. Tensions between Britain and Buganda led to the temporary expulsion of Kabaka Mutesa II in 1953. Mutesa returned to Uganda after a new agreement was created in 1955. In theory, this agreement was meant to curb Bagandan powers, but in the practice simply created further centralization by allowing Mutesa to supplement his own government. Several new nationalist parties sprang up in protest, and Britain was forced to succumb to mounting pressure for independence. Milton Obote won the 1962 general election and Uganda was granted full independence on October 9, 1962.

The original idea for post-independence Uganda was for a centrally elected body to legislate national affairs. The traditional kingdoms would continue to be recognized and their kings would retain some autonomy regarding local affairs. The Bugandan and Bunyoro rivalries, as well as allegations of corruption and theft, eventually convinced Obote to order the abolition of all kingdoms in 1966. His army, led by Idi Amin, stormed the Kabaka’s palace and forced him to go into exile. Subsequently, Obote became increasingly binding in order to maintain a semblance of stability. In January 1971, while Obote was out of the country attending a Commonwealth conference, Army Commander Idi Amin staged a military coup and declared himself president for life.

Uganda’s recent political history is well documented. In 1972, Amin forced foreign-owned businesses to close and drove all Asians out of the country, “Africanized” their businesses, and seized their money and possessions for “state” use. This action turned out to be an economic disaster. Having destroyed the country’s economy, Amin began a reign of terror over the people of Uganda. As Amin’s unpopularity grew, he tried to forge national unity by declaring war on neighboring Tanzania. Tanzania reportedly invaded Uganda, meeting little resistance. To the joy of most Ugandans, Amin was forced into exile in April 1979.

After a couple of short-lived coalition governments, supervised by Tanzania, elections were held in December 1980, and Obote returned to power. Obote introduced moderately successful economic policies, but otherwise continued to use the same heavy-handed tactics as Amin. In 1982, the National Resistance Movement (NRM), an army led by Yoweri Museveni, declared war on the government. The country plunged into full-scale civil war, and in August 1985 Obote was ousted from power in a military coup. Finally, in January 1986, the NRM stormed the capital and Museveni was sworn in as president.

Museveni shied away from retributive actions that had destroyed the credibility of previous acquisitions. He appointed a broad-based government that crossed party and ethnic lines, restored the rule of law, appointed a much-needed Human Rights Commission, increased press freedom and encouraged the return of Asian and other exiles. On the economic front, he adopted pragmatic policies and encouraged foreign investment and tourism. The international community has responded with increased technical and monetary assistance, and is now rapidly rebuilding infrastructure to support Uganda’s new growth.

People

Uganda’s population is approaching 17,500,000, with an annual growth rate of approximately 2.5% and with the majority of its population concentrated in the south and west. The most populous ethnic group is the Bantu-speaking Baganda, who make up about 20% of the population and are concentrated around Kampala. Other significant Bantu-speaking groups are the Ankole, Toro, Banyoro, and Basoga. The eastern and northern parts of the country are populated by various groups of Nilotic and Kushite peoples, including the Iteso, Karimojong, Acholi and Langi.

language

The official language of Uganda is English, which is spoken as a second language by most educated Ugandans. Some 40 local languages ​​are spoken in different parts of the country. Most of these belong to the Bantu language group and include Luganda, Lusoga, and Lutoro. In the north and east various Nilotic and Cushitic languages ​​are spoken; some of them for only a few thousand people. Many Ugandans speak a limited amount of Kiswahili, a coastal language that spread into the interior of East Africa by Arab slave traders in the 19th century. English and Kiswahili are the most useful languages ​​for travelers to Uganda.