Special Reports
Colonialists found an organised society
Each of these tribes had a political leadership. However, the more easily recognised political systems included the kingdoms of Buganda, Bunyoro, Ankole and Tooro, the chiefdoms in Busoga, parts of the north.
English explorer John Hanning Speke and Kabaka Mwanga. (File)
By: Joshua Kato, Journalist @New Vision
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INDEPENDENCE
In the first of a series of stories as the 64th Independence Day draws closer, we examine how the pre-colonial society was set up socially, politically and economically. Joshua Kato writes.
Before colonial rule, Ugandan communities largely organised themselves along ethnic and cultural lines, creating distinct political and territorial identities.
However, by the time the first explorers set foot on this land, there were over 30 ethnic tribes that were largely divided into three groups.
The Bantu were mainly in the south, near the east and west and the Luo and Nilotics in the north. The Bantu included Baganda, Banyoro, Basoga, Banyankore, Bakiga, Bagisu and Batooro. Luo-speaking Nilotic groups were Acholi and Langi, while the Central Sudanic group Lugbara and Madi were based in West Nile.
There are several historical accounts about the origin of all these tribes. It should also be noted that there is no single agreed account of the origin of these tribes because of a mix of both history and legend. For Ankole and Bunyoro, it is claimed that they came from the Batembuzi. However, the Batembuzi were occupied by the Bachwezi, who are believed to have reigned for about two centuries before disappearing around the 15th century.
Historians and oral traditions offer different accounts of the origin of the Baganda. Buganda traditions trace the kingdom to Kintu, regarded as the founding Kabaka, while other traditions link early Buganda to dynastic movements associated with Bunyoro. Modern historians generally view Buganda as a kingdom that emerged through the gradual integration of clans and communities in the Lake Victoria region.
Between the 15th and 17th centuries, Bunyoro Kingdom was the strongest in the region. It attacked Buganda and Ankole, defeating them before making a long sweep to attack Rwanda. This mission failed largely because they were overstretched and gradually weakened Bunyoro Kingdom. Buganda, which was hitherto a small kingdom on the shores of Lake Victoria, took over as the strongest kingdom. It attacked various fronts of Bunyoro around the 17th century, expanding from barely six counties to around 16 counties by the time the first Europeans arrived. This explains why perhaps the British decided to settle there.
Each of these tribes had a political leadership. However, the more easily recognised political systems included the kingdoms of Buganda, Bunyoro, Ankole and Tooro, the chiefdoms in Busoga, parts of the north.
With hindsight, however, the first colonialists picked out Buganda as a central point because of its relatively modern and organised leadership structure. First, Arab traders arrived at the coast. They then penetrated the mainland, selling guns to Buganda. In the north, Egypt was also on a mission, trying to expand southwards nearly into parts of northern Uganda.
John Speke
He was the very first European to visit, together with his colleague John Grant. The reason given is that the two were actually searching for the source of River Nile, having encountered the river in Egypt. However, given the subsequent events, the two explorers were looking for much more than water. In 1862, about 164 years ago, the two white men met Kabaka Muteesa I at his palace in Mengo. In the north, another white man, Sir Samuel Baker, walked southward following River Nile before reaching Bunyoro Kingdom. However, unlike in Buganda where his colleagues were fairly welcomed, the Omukama Kamurasi was lukewarm because he suspected him to be up to something, but Samuel Baker settled in gradually.
Historians and oral traditions offer different accounts of the origin of the Baganda. Buganda traditions trace the kingdom to Kintu, regarded as the founding Kabaka, while other traditions link early Buganda to dynastic movements associated with Bunyoro. Modern historians generally view Buganda as a kingdom that emerged through the gradual integration of clans and communities in the Lake Victoria region.
Between the 15th and 17th centuries, Bunyoro Kingdom was the strongest in the region. It attacked Buganda and Ankole, defeating them before making a long sweep to attack Rwanda. This mission failed largely because they were overstretched and gradually weakened Bunyoro Kingdom. Buganda, which was hitherto a small kingdom on the shores of Lake Victoria, took over as the strongest kingdom. It attacked various fronts of Bunyoro around the 17th century, expanding from barely six counties to around 16 counties by the time the first Europeans arrived. This explains why perhaps the British decided to settle there.
Each of these tribes had a political leadership. However, the more easily recognised political systems included the kingdoms of Buganda, Bunyoro, Ankole and Tooro, the chiefdoms in Busoga, parts of the north.
With hindsight, however, the first colonialists picked out Buganda as a central point because of its relatively modern and organised leadership structure. First, Arab traders arrived at the coast. They then penetrated the mainland, selling guns to Buganda. In the north, Egypt was also on a mission, trying to expand southwards nearly into parts of northern Uganda.
John Speke
He was the very first European to visit, together with his colleague John Grant. The reason given is that the two were actually searching for the source of River Nile, having encountered the river in Egypt. However, given the subsequent events, the two explorers were looking for much more than water. In 1862, about 164 years ago, the two white men met Kabaka Muteesa I at his palace in Mengo. In the north, another white man, Sir Samuel Baker, walked southward following River Nile before reaching Bunyoro Kingdom. However, unlike in Buganda where his colleagues were fairly welcomed, the Omukama Kamurasi was lukewarm because he suspected him to be up to something, but Samuel Baker settled in gradually.
Mutesa collaborated with and accepted the British primarily to secure military backing against regional rivals, obtain modern weapons and expand trade and modernisation.
There was little direct European engagement in Buganda, until the arrival of Sir Henry Stanley in 1895. Stanley’s visit accelerated missionary interest in Buganda. Muteesa accepted the introduction of Christianity in his kingdom. Hence, members of the Church Missionary Society (CMS) arrived in 1877, followed by the Roman Catholic Missionaries in 1879.
Muteesa kept both religions at arm’s length near his palace, but when he died, the conflict between religion and the political leadership became wider. In 1886, a group of young, religious men were killed.
His successor, Kabaka Mwanga, ordered the killing of 45 Christian converts after he accused them of disobedience. Both Catholic and Anglican converts were executed between 1885 and 1887, with 22 Catholic martyrs later canonised by the Catholic Church. He thought that they were spending more time on religious affairs than on kingdom issues. These were later named the Uganda Martyrs.
TOMORROW: HOW RELIGIOUS WARS PAVED WAY FOR THE COLONIALISTS
There was little direct European engagement in Buganda, until the arrival of Sir Henry Stanley in 1895. Stanley’s visit accelerated missionary interest in Buganda. Muteesa accepted the introduction of Christianity in his kingdom. Hence, members of the Church Missionary Society (CMS) arrived in 1877, followed by the Roman Catholic Missionaries in 1879.
Muteesa kept both religions at arm’s length near his palace, but when he died, the conflict between religion and the political leadership became wider. In 1886, a group of young, religious men were killed.
His successor, Kabaka Mwanga, ordered the killing of 45 Christian converts after he accused them of disobedience. Both Catholic and Anglican converts were executed between 1885 and 1887, with 22 Catholic martyrs later canonised by the Catholic Church. He thought that they were spending more time on religious affairs than on kingdom issues. These were later named the Uganda Martyrs.
TOMORROW: HOW RELIGIOUS WARS PAVED WAY FOR THE COLONIALISTS