History of Kampala
How the city evolved out of swamp for impala.
How the city evolved out of swamp for impala.
-Arab traders from Zanzibar set foot in Buganda in the 1840s, using established trade caravans. Trade was conducted at the King’s Court. The Arabs came for ivory and slaves in exchange for their firearms and cotton clothes.
-Before 1890, Kampala acted as the centre of interstate trade with other Kingdoms. Buganda exchanged crafts, barkcloth and foodstuffs for millet, pots, iron tools (hoes and spears), cattle products from Bunyoro and Ankole.
-The name Kampala comes from a Impala, a type of antelope which used to graze on the slopes of Mengo. The name ‘Hill of the Impala’ was given specifically to the hill on which Captain Fredrick Lord Lugard, a British administrator, established his camp (Fort) on December 18, 1890. The Baganda translated Hill of the Impala into kasozi k’Impala (pronounced ka Impala and eventually ka mpala).
-In 1890, Kampala was declared headquarters of Uganda’s colonial administration.
-Originally, the city was limited to a small area of about 50 square kms. But today, with a population of about 1.5 million people of different ethnic backgrounds, the city’s geographical boundaries stop at Najjanankumbi on Entebbe Road, River Mayanja on Masaka Road, Banda on Jinja Road, Mpererwe on Gayaza Road, Busega on Mityana Road and Kawempe on Bombo Road.
-1906: Kampala attains township status.
-January 1, 1949 Kampala becomes a municipality.
-March 1962: Kampala is declared capital of Uganda seven months before the independence on October 9.
Compiled by Denis Ocwich
-Arab traders from Zanzibar set foot in Buganda in the 1840s, using established trade caravans. Trade was conducted at the King’s Court. The Arabs came for ivory and slaves in exchange for their firearms and cotton clothes.
-Before 1890, Kampala acted as the centre of interstate trade with other Kingdoms. Buganda exchanged crafts, barkcloth and foodstuffs for millet, pots, iron tools (hoes and spears), cattle products from Bunyoro and Ankole.
-The name Kampala comes from a Impala, a type of antelope which used to graze on the slopes of Mengo. The name ‘Hill of the Impala’ was given specifically to the hill on which Captain Fredrick Lord Lugard, a British administrator, established his camp (Fort) on December 18, 1890. The Baganda translated Hill of the Impala into kasozi k’Impala (pronounced ka Impala and eventually ka mpala).
-In 1890, Kampala was declared headquarters of Uganda’s colonial administration.
-Originally, the city was limited to a small area of about 50 square kms. But today, with a population of about 1.5 million people of different ethnic backgrounds, the city’s geographical boundaries stop at Najjanankumbi on Entebbe Road, River Mayanja on Masaka Road, Banda on Jinja Road, Mpererwe on Gayaza Road, Busega on Mityana Road and Kawempe on Bombo Road.
-1906: Kampala attains township status.
-January 1, 1949 Kampala becomes a municipality.
-March 1962: Kampala is declared capital of Uganda seven months before the independence on October 9.
Compiled by Denis Ocwich