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The political history of Uganda is long and complex. From the "Cradle of Civilization" to present date, Uganda's history has been both varied and fascinating. This section attempts to give a chronological account of Uganda's political history.
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The present-day Uganda was forged by the British between 1890 and 1926. The name Uganda was derived from the Buganda Kingdom.It is important to note that the British were not the first people to unite Uganda.
Before the British united Uganda, the Bachwezi dynasty controlled or influenced parts of Uganda, Rwanda, Congo and Tanzania between 1100 AD and 1600AD. Names like Ndahura (Ndawula), Mulindwa, Wamala, Kagoro, Kyomya, Mugasha (Mukasa), which are Bachwezi names are found throughout these areas.
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The first foreigners to arrive in Uganda were Arab traders in 1845. In 1862, John Hannington Speke arrived in Buganda followed by Grant in 1865, and by Henry Morton Stanley in 1865.
These Europeans were referred to as 'explorers' - exploring territory for British expansion. Stanley helped Buganda raid the Islands of Buvuma and extracted a letter of invitation from Kabaka Mutesa I, inviting the white men to come to his kingdom.
Mutesa felt threatened by the spread of Egyptian imperialism and the old rivalry from the Kingdom of Bunyoro. He wanted guns to defend his kingdom and invited the whites thinking that they would help him in this task.
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Around this time, the British Government sent FJ Jackson as an agent of the Imperial British East Africa Company. His role was to oversee the British sphere of influence, which included Buganda. While on his way, Jackson heard the news that Karl Peters, a German who was preferred by the Catholics, had come to Buganda. He rushed to Buganda and negotiated with Mwanga who, however, refused to sign a treaty with him because of the Catholic influence. The Catholics' fear was that any treaty with Jackson's company would favour the Protestants.
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Mwanga's reinstatement was not the end of the story. In July 1897 he escaped from his palace where he was being kept as a puppet king. With some of his followers, he boarded a canoe and crossed Lake Victoria to go to Buddu. From there he started a rebellion against the combined forces of the British and their Protestant collaborators to reassert his authority.
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Political History