First cartoons on Uganda in UK media
A CARTOON is described as ‘a humorous drawing, often dealing in a satirical way with something of interest in the news’. Newspaper readers know the value and fun added to the political and social news by simple cartoons, which capture what is going on.
By Olivia Mutibwa
A CARTOON is described as ‘a humorous drawing, often dealing in a satirical way with something of interest in the news’. Newspaper readers know the value and fun added to the political and social news by simple cartoons, which capture what is going on.
I personally look at newspaper cartoons as a quick measure of getting updated with what is newsworthy. If I can not understand what the cartoon is about, this automatically means I have missed reading the papers for a day or two, otherwise the cartoon drawing should talk to me in a nutshell.
The two cartoons on this page must probably be the first humorous newspaper drawings on Uganda to appear in a magazine or newspaper within and outside the country.
They were published by Punch Magazine and Punch Cartoon Library in 1894. Punch, the magazine of humour and satire, is the world’s best and largest collection repository of cartoon art and ran from 1841 until its closure in 2002.
Described as “A British institution with international reputation for its witty and irreverent take on the worldâ€, it modelled cartoon art business as we know it today.
Its political cartoons swayed governments, while its social cartoons captured life in the l9th and 20th centuries. The world’s funniest cartoonists appeared in Punch.
Since its launch in July, 1841, Punch has published more than 500,000 cartoons and apart from the ones appearing here as the first ones on Uganda, l am sure further searches will bring out more on Uganda for the period 1895- 1962.
Cartoon Number 1, from Punch dated October 23, 1892 (white elephant) recalls the Imperial British East African Company’s conclusion that they must reluctantly give up Uganda, which the British Government was even more reluctant to take over.
Cartoon Number 2, published on April 12, 1894, came after Her Majesty’s Government announced in both Houses of Parliament its intention to assume a Protectorate over Uganda.
If you compare with Punch’s earlier cartoon, the creature, which had been depicted two years earlier (1892) as ‘a huge and troublesome beast’ had become a baby needing help.
Olivia Mutibwa is a former deputy Makerere University librarian. She holds a Degree in History and is a Chartered Fellow of the British Library Association.
More information on the cartoons can be got at http//www.punch.library@harrods.com
A CARTOON is described as ‘a humorous drawing, often dealing in a satirical way with something of interest in the news’. Newspaper readers know the value and fun added to the political and social news by simple cartoons, which capture what is going on.
I personally look at newspaper cartoons as a quick measure of getting updated with what is newsworthy. If I can not understand what the cartoon is about, this automatically means I have missed reading the papers for a day or two, otherwise the cartoon drawing should talk to me in a nutshell.
The two cartoons on this page must probably be the first humorous newspaper drawings on Uganda to appear in a magazine or newspaper within and outside the country.
They were published by Punch Magazine and Punch Cartoon Library in 1894. Punch, the magazine of humour and satire, is the world’s best and largest collection repository of cartoon art and ran from 1841 until its closure in 2002.
Described as “A British institution with international reputation for its witty and irreverent take on the worldâ€, it modelled cartoon art business as we know it today.
Its political cartoons swayed governments, while its social cartoons captured life in the l9th and 20th centuries. The world’s funniest cartoonists appeared in Punch.
Since its launch in July, 1841, Punch has published more than 500,000 cartoons and apart from the ones appearing here as the first ones on Uganda, l am sure further searches will bring out more on Uganda for the period 1895- 1962.
Cartoon Number 1, from Punch dated October 23, 1892 (white elephant) recalls the Imperial British East African Company’s conclusion that they must reluctantly give up Uganda, which the British Government was even more reluctant to take over.
Cartoon Number 2, published on April 12, 1894, came after Her Majesty’s Government announced in both Houses of Parliament its intention to assume a Protectorate over Uganda.
If you compare with Punch’s earlier cartoon, the creature, which had been depicted two years earlier (1892) as ‘a huge and troublesome beast’ had become a baby needing help.
Olivia Mutibwa is a former deputy Makerere University librarian. She holds a Degree in History and is a Chartered Fellow of the British Library Association.
More information on the cartoons can be got at http//www.punch.library@harrods.com