There are few records of Ugandan early settlement. We do know, however, that the Bantu people the area as far back as 1000 BCE. The Bantu people participated in agriculture and their iron can be traced bat to CE 1000 (commonwealth). The colonization of Uganda began in the 1840s by Arab traders in search for slaves and ivory. Settlement was further expanded by two British explorers-Speke in 1862 and Stanley in 1875. The region in which Speke and Stanley landed was called Buganda. At this time there were four main regions-Buganda, Bunyoro, Toro and Ankole (historyworld).
In 1888 the British government assigned a commercial company by the name of the Imperial British East Africa Company the right to administer and develop the territory of Buganda. In 1894 Buganda was declared a British Protectorate and this title extended to the other three territories in 1896 bringing together Uganda as a whole. This new Protectorate extended Buganda’s administrative systems to Bunyoro, Toro and Ankole. The British Colonial Office gained control of Uganda in 1905, however, it still was never fully colonized since non-Africans were not allowed to acquire freeholds (commonwealth).
Uganda gained independence from Britain on October 9, 1962 and became known as the Republic of Uganda. Since then Uganda has been plagued by war. Diamond’s theory in Guns, Germs, and Steel states that success is linked directly to the resources you have. However, he also states that war and disease can be a hindrance to this success. This is the case when it comes to Uganda. In 1904 cotton began to be planted and grown for export. Production of coffee and sugar began in the 1920s. Then after WWII high prices of coffee and cotton brought an economic boom (common wealth). However, this success was greatly hindered by war and disease. War with Tanzania began in 1978. The result-by 1980 the new president, Obote, “was unable to restore economic and political stability to the devastated country,” (commonwealth) and the country entered even more fighting against the Lord’s Resistance Army led by Joseph Kony.
Now, not only was the country struggling economically, but the population was facing hardship as well preventing success despite their natural resources. The first AIDS epidemic was recorded in Uganda in 1982. By 2010 18 million children had been orphaned by AIDS (Lloyd 17). “One study of CHHs in Rakai, Uganda, showed that the number of orphans who had lost parents and were living on their own increased from 4.4% of all orphans from 1985 to 1989 to an incredible 60% between 1995 and 1999” (Lloyd 17). This increase in orphans is no surprise especially when you pair AIDS with the Child War of Uganda which was led by Joseph Kony and the LRA. “No one knows exactly how many people have died in this chaotic civil war because no one has been keeping track” (Eichstaedt 17). About 38,000 children have been abducted since 1986. With a rising population of orphans this means that there are less people in the working force. And as the economy is heavily agriculturally based this also affects their food production. Altogether their circumstances are hindering their resources and crushing what could be an incredible success story. Uganda is a direct example of Diamond’s theory on why societies do not thrive despite the resources to do so.
In 1888 the British government assigned a commercial company by the name of the Imperial British East Africa Company the right to administer and develop the territory of Buganda. In 1894 Buganda was declared a British Protectorate and this title extended to the other three territories in 1896 bringing together Uganda as a whole. This new Protectorate extended Buganda’s administrative systems to Bunyoro, Toro and Ankole. The British Colonial Office gained control of Uganda in 1905, however, it still was never fully colonized since non-Africans were not allowed to acquire freeholds (commonwealth).
Uganda gained independence from Britain on October 9, 1962 and became known as the Republic of Uganda. Since then Uganda has been plagued by war. Diamond’s theory in Guns, Germs, and Steel states that success is linked directly to the resources you have. However, he also states that war and disease can be a hindrance to this success. This is the case when it comes to Uganda. In 1904 cotton began to be planted and grown for export. Production of coffee and sugar began in the 1920s. Then after WWII high prices of coffee and cotton brought an economic boom (common wealth). However, this success was greatly hindered by war and disease. War with Tanzania began in 1978. The result-by 1980 the new president, Obote, “was unable to restore economic and political stability to the devastated country,” (commonwealth) and the country entered even more fighting against the Lord’s Resistance Army led by Joseph Kony.
Now, not only was the country struggling economically, but the population was facing hardship as well preventing success despite their natural resources. The first AIDS epidemic was recorded in Uganda in 1982. By 2010 18 million children had been orphaned by AIDS (Lloyd 17). “One study of CHHs in Rakai, Uganda, showed that the number of orphans who had lost parents and were living on their own increased from 4.4% of all orphans from 1985 to 1989 to an incredible 60% between 1995 and 1999” (Lloyd 17). This increase in orphans is no surprise especially when you pair AIDS with the Child War of Uganda which was led by Joseph Kony and the LRA. “No one knows exactly how many people have died in this chaotic civil war because no one has been keeping track” (Eichstaedt 17). About 38,000 children have been abducted since 1986. With a rising population of orphans this means that there are less people in the working force. And as the economy is heavily agriculturally based this also affects their food production. Altogether their circumstances are hindering their resources and crushing what could be an incredible success story. Uganda is a direct example of Diamond’s theory on why societies do not thrive despite the resources to do so.
Troubled Times in the Kingdom of Buganda in the Country of Uganda. (n.d.). Retrieved September 14, 2015, from http://www.geocurrents.info/geopolitics/troubled-times-in-the-kingdom-of-buganda-in-the-country-of-uganda
This map shows the four main Kingdoms of Uganda-Ankole, Toro, Bunyoro, and Buganda.
This map shows the four main Kingdoms of Uganda-Ankole, Toro, Bunyoro, and Buganda.
ZZZ_HIV Prevention Through Behavior Change: Page 7. (n.d.). Retrieved September 14, 2015, from https://www.atrainceu.com/course-module/1472896-zzz_hiv-prevention-through-behavior-change-page
This is a map of the % of adults with HIV/AIDS in 2007 in Africa. Uganda is in the blue box and here you can see that it more than 15% of adults in Uganda have Aids.
Interested in Learning More? Additional Resources Include:
Uganda History
http://thecommonwealth.org/our-member-countries/uganda/history
A great source for if you are wanting to know more of the politics behind the multiple transfers of power during settlements. It also has more history on the wars.
Uganda History/Geography
http://www.britannica.com/place/Uganda
This website has tons of information on more of the culture of Uganda as well as more of the agriculture, climate, and so forth. If you are interested in learning about what the country is like itself this is a great resource for that.
This is a map of the % of adults with HIV/AIDS in 2007 in Africa. Uganda is in the blue box and here you can see that it more than 15% of adults in Uganda have Aids.
Interested in Learning More? Additional Resources Include:
Uganda History
http://thecommonwealth.org/our-member-countries/uganda/history
A great source for if you are wanting to know more of the politics behind the multiple transfers of power during settlements. It also has more history on the wars.
Uganda History/Geography
http://www.britannica.com/place/Uganda
This website has tons of information on more of the culture of Uganda as well as more of the agriculture, climate, and so forth. If you are interested in learning about what the country is like itself this is a great resource for that.
Population Pyramids
We see from these population pyramids that Uganda has had a pretty consistent high birth rate and high death rate over the years. The first pyramid shows the population when Uganda first gained independence. Here we see that while there was a high death rate, the majority of the population is between 25-30, this is the population having the children. Then we see them start to dwindle off again but at a much slower rate than the children. In 1985-when the AIDS epidemic began to spread throughout Uganda, we see that many die before the age of 45-50 but now we have a large population in that age range. Now looking at 2015, the current time, we see that there is a consistent death rate and no age group lies in the majority. This may be a result of the Child War.