Uganda Protectorate in 1920

from : South and East African Year Book and Guide, 26th edition, 1920, pp. 515, 519-520, 526



Education (p.515)

There are no schools for European children, who are usually educated in British East Africa or elsewhere, and no Government schools for natives whose education is left to Missionary Societies receiving official financial support, amounting (1918) to L 1,250.
The natives eagerly avail themselves of the opportunities afforded, there are Normal Schools for native teachers, the principal of which is at Mengo (Kampala) which is affiliated to the Namirembe C.M.S. Schools. The King's School is at Budo. There are also Schools for the sons of chiefs or of others who can afford to pay the fees, at Mengo, Kamuli (near Jinja), Ngora (Eastern Province), Mbarara (Ankole), Kabarole (Toro), Hima (Unyoro), Mbale (Bukedi), and Ng'ora (Teso). There are two High Schools for girls, one at Gayaza and one at Kabarole. Much of the education is technical and agriculture has taken a definite place in the curriculum. In addition to the above are a number of less important Missionary schools of various denominations.


History of Uganda (pp.519-520)

Little is known about this country prior to the arrival of Europeans, though tradition says that the present ling is the thirty-second member of his dynasty. Speke and Grant passed through Uganda in 1862, spending six months at M'tesa's court, and Sir Samuel Baker, whom they met on their way down the Nile, also visited the country. Stanley was in Uganda in 1875, and described the country as "the Pearl of Africa". Protestant missionaries arrived in 1877 at the invitation of King M'tesa; in 1879 Catholic missionaries followed.
On M'tesa's death, his son M'wanga endeavoured to exterminate the Christians, many were burnt alive, and Bishop Harrington was murdered in 1885.
Prior to 1890, when the country came under the rule of the British East Africa Company, Uganda had fallen into a state of anarchy. In that year the British Government, at the Brussels Convention, undertook the suppression of the slave trade in East Africa, and the construction of a railway from the coast was first mooted. In 1902 war between the Catholic and Protestant factions broke out in Uganda. The B.E,A. Company, finding the maintenance of its authority beyond its powers, notified its intention to evacuate the territory, which was taken over by the Imperial Government in 1893. The Uganda Railway, commenced in 1896, was opened to Lake Victoria (584 m.) in 1902, at a cost of 5 1/2 millions.
In 1897, an insurrection occurred, which was repressed after some difficulty; the Kings of Uganda and Unyoro were deported to the Seychelles. The present King of Uganda, who lives at Mengo (Kampala), is descended from the deported King.
In 1902, a portion of Uganda, now known as the Provinces of Kisumu and Naivasha, was transferred to British East Africa, and in 1905 the administration of the Protectorate passed from the Foreign to the Colonial Office.
The natives of the Uganda Protectorate are negroes and include members of the Bantu, Nilotic, Hamitic and pigmy races. The Baganda are probably the most intelligent of all African communities, native typists, clerks, tradesmen and motor-car drivers being numerous. They are, however, decreasing in numbers for various reasons, one being syphilis, a complaint which is distressingly common in Central Africa. The Pigmies are also an intelligent race. The Hamitic race, who are physically handsome, are very averse to agricultural or any other description of work. The Nilotic negroes, on the other hand, many of whom are of an ugly or even debased type, are almost always industrious tillers of the soil.


Climate (p. 526)

Central and Eastern Uganda are distinctly tropical, though the most trying conditions of the trpoics are tempered by the elevation, which is some 3,750 feet near Lake Victoria, and attains to a great altitude on the slopes of Mount Elgon, 14,197 feet, on the East. The slopes of Mount Ruwenzori, 16,794 feet, and the Toro Highlands on the West, where the climate resembles that of Kikuyu in B.E.A., is by far the healthiest portion of Uganda. Towards the North there is an area of gradually decreasing altitude along the valley of the Nile and westwards of the same : the climate of this district and of the neighbourhood of Lake Kioga is unhealthy.
In some localities the conditions are not unfavourable to Europeans. Malaria is prevalent in all parts below say 6,000 or 7,000 feet.
Plague, sleeping sickness and small pox are endemic, but do not often spread to the white population, and are under fair control. Drinking water should always be boiled.
In 1917, there were 359 cases of sickness and 2 deaths among 378 European officials; 112 cases were due to malaria and 11 to dysentery : there was no blackwater fever.
Even at midsummer, however, the weather is delightful at times and residents at Entebbe, Kampala, etc., may play tennis, golf, cricket, etc., all the year round.
On the upper slopes of Mount Elgon, and in the neighbourhood of Mount Ruwenzori, where the limit of perpetual snow lies at about 13,000 feet, it may be, of course, bitterly cold; in the intermediate territory, which comprises an immense undeveloped area, there are wide spaces suitable for growing anything from cotton, cocoa and rubber in the neighbourhood of Lakes Victoria and Kioga, to wheat, oats or timber on the mountain slopes of Toro and Ankole.
The following meteorological observations, though imperfect, are the best at the writer's disposal : -

Temperatures
5 years, 1907-1911 Rainfall
Place

Entebbe, Uganda
Masaka, Uganda
Kampala, Uganda
Mbarara, West Province
Fort Portal, West Province
Jinja, East Province
Mbale, East Province
Koba, North Province
Nimule, North Province
Gondokoro, East Province 		Mean Max.

78.1 F
78.8 F
82.7 F
79.5 F
79.3 F
83.0 F
83.8 F
-
94.0 F
91.0 F 		Mean Min.

62.2 F
60.3 F
62.6 F
51.2 F
55.0 F
62.8 F
60.8 F
-
70.2 F
67.5 F 		Maximum
1910 only
86.0 F
86.0 F
91.0 F
96.0 F
85.0 F
92.0 F
- F
106.0
102.3 F
104.2 F 		Minimum
1910 only
57.0 F
55.0 F
57.0 F
40.0 F
47.0 F
54.0 F
- F
62.0
60.1 F
59.4 F 		1911 & 1913
inches
54.6
29.6
43.3
24.9
52.1
45.7
47.2
-
43.6
19.7


There are two rainy seasons. The heavy rains generally begin in March and May, and the lesser rains in November and December. January and February are the hottest months; May till July the coolest.


Area, Population and Resources (pp. 538-541A)

The Uganda Protectorate is bounded on the South by the former German colony and Lake Victoria; on the West by Lake Albert Edward and Albert and by the Congo Free State; on the North by the Sudan and on the East by Lake Rudolf and British East Africa. The British, and Belgian frontiers meet on the inaccessible summit of Mount Sabinyo 11,990 feet, in the M'fumbiro Range between Lakes Edward and Kivu.
The Protectorate consists of the Kingdom of Uganda Proper (Proclamation of 1890) officially known as Buganda, area about 19,600 sq. m., and of the Territories of Usoga, Unyoro, Toro, Ankole, Buddu and Koki (Proclamations of 1894 and later) and is about 420 m. long by about 290 m. wide with an area of about 109,119 sq. m. It lies between 1 degree S. and 5 degrees N. of the Equator and between 30 degr. and 35 degr. N.E. of Greenwich. Out of the total area some 16,400 sq. m. are water.
The King of Buganda lives at Mengo (Kampala) and administers his Kingdom with the aid of his Ministers and subject to the advice of the Governor of the Uganda Protectorate. The remainder of the Protectorate is administered by the Governor and Council.

Active administration, however, does not yet (1918) extend to the Rudolf Province and the Districts of Karamojo and Lobor, in the Eastern Province.

The white population in March, 1918, was 770, including 378 Government servants; Asiatics, 3,467. The native population was estimated at 3,357,080. Some years ago the natives were reduced in number by the sleeping sickness, a disease which is now comparatively innocuous. The natural increase of the population is hindered by the effects of venereal disease, which has been universal for some generations, but is now being successfully combated.
In 1918, the natives owned 664,717 heads of cattle, 244,751 sheep and 876,220 goats, exclusive of large numbers known to exist in the Province of Rudolf.

Defence etc. - Affairs pertaining to the Military, the Police, Posts and Telegraphs and the Medical Services are administered in common with those of the British East African Protectorate.

Hospitals. - The Kampala C.M.S. Hospital, described under Kampala, is the leading institution in Central Africa. There are well-equipped C.M.S. Hospitals at Fort Portal (Toro) and Mengo, with Resident Doctor and Nursing Sisters. There are other Hospitals and Medical Officers at Entebbe, Kampala, Butiaba, Jinja, M'bale, Hoima, Lira, Masindi, Namasagali, Soroti, Mbarara, Masaka and Gulu.

Banks. - The principal Banks are the Standard Bank and the National Bank of India.

Savings Bank. - In 1918-19 there were 654 depositors.

Post and Telegraph System. - This is combined with that of British East Africa.

The Law is administered as in British East Africa, modified by native custom and special ordinances.

Year

1906-07
1908-09
1909-10
1910-11
1911-12
1913-13
1913-14
1914-15
1915-16
1916-17
1917-18 		Revenue

L 96,772
102,572
165,145
191,094
203,492
238,655
256,559
282,831
287,025
315,458
390,076 		Grants in Aid

L 112,000
95,000
103,262
96,000
65,000
45,000
35,000
10,000
dispensed with
dispensed with
dispensed with 		Expenditure

L 191,502
256,337
240,240
252,374
283,689
292,147
290,180
289,213
285,072
297,575
292,913


In 1912, a special grant of L 125,000 (part of L 500,000) was made by the Imperial Parliament for purposes of general development and more especially of means of transport. Public debt 1918, L 332,228.

Year


1906-07
1908-09
1909-10
1910-11
1911-12
1912-13
1913-14
1914-15
1915-16
1916-17 		Imports
Private Merchandise

L 222,588
281,254
288,876
347,823
428,199
535,891
754,754
483,144
609,823
948,895 		Exports
Domestic Produce

L 116,001
127,175
175,934
306,609
367,575
436,902
511,679
506,878
503,681
637,793


The following tables show some of the principal Imports and Exports : - (On April 1st, 1917, the Customs of Uganda were amalgamated with those of British East Africa and no further detailed figures are available).

Imports
Goods

Agricultural Implements
Hardware
Yarns & Textile Fabrics -
- Bafta
Americani
- Other linds
Bicycles
Bags and Sacks
Provisions
Blankets 		1912-13

L 7,782
24,110

23,969
84,868
117,981
19,004
18,565
19,866
- 		1913-14

L 13,404
28,107

41,526
108,384
135,268
26,532
22,101
20,292
36,161 		1914-15

L 7,546
17,030

16,508
59,579
68,142
15,894
14,399
17,888
17,870 		1915-16

L 3,327
6,118

17,448
101,789
124,202
4,365
13,563
19,314
21,451 		1916-17

L 17,705
8,472

32,486
132,700
197,702
9,096
24,589
26,052
35,022


Exports (Domestic produce only).
Goods

Coffee
Chillies
Ground nuts
Sesame (sim-sim)
Rubber (wild)
Rubber (plantation)
Cotton
Hides
Skins (goat & sheep)
Ghee
Ivory 		1912-13

L 8,940
12,408
5,570
16,812
3,647
834
254,379
45,854
28,543
11,439
18,842 		1913-14

L 23,169
8,427
3,740
12,507
1,107
2,934
317,687
52,926
30,652
12,507
23,678 		1914-15

L 41,005
5,835
76
4,764
nil
1,838
351,146
54,917
19,597
12,264
6,283 		1915-16

L 87,202
16,850
822
21,986
554
4,363
245,426
64,480
18,429
11,998
11,091 		1916-17

L 115,927
27,328
1,767
21,318
40
7,181
348,973
53,002
16,227
18,310
36,174


In 1916-17, 76.33 per cent. of imports came from the United Kingdom and the Dependancies; goods from India, Burmah and Ceylon represented about 22 per cent.
Generally speaking progress in Uganda has been severely restricted by the war.

The average elevation of the country is under 4,000 feet, varying from about 3,750 at Lake Victoria to about 3,300 to the west of Hoima and Masindi, where there is a sudden fall of 1,200 feet to Lake Albert. To the N. of Lake Albert, 2,028 feet, there is a gradual descent along the valley of the Nile to Rejaf, where the altitude is about 1,500 feet.
Central Uganda is a country of flattened hills and valleys, lakes and swamps. It is vastly fertile and capable of producing a large variety of crops, but perhaps those likely to be of chief interest to the outside world are cotton and coffee, though there are many places where rubber will thrive. The export figures on the preceding page, especially those for cotton, coffee and rubber, will be found of interest.
The chief native food crop are plantains, millet and sweet potatoes, but wheat, maize, sugar-cane, chillies, tobacco, yams, ground-nuts, sim-sim and indeed most of those enumerated on pages 558 to 564 can be grown.

In 1918 there were 131 European estates (exclusive of Mission plantations) with a total acreage of 19,699 under cultivation. 2,879,008 acres is the estimated area of native cultivation in the Protectorate, but this does not take into account cultivated land in the Rudolf Province, the Gulu and Kitgum Districts of the Northern Province and large areas in the Eastern Province, for which figures are not available. Native agriculture is fostered by native unstructors, who have specialised in the cultivation of the particular crops adapted to the several districts, under the supervision of the European staff of the Agricultural Department. They receive their training on one of the five Government plantations.

As regards crops requiring a heavy rainfall, such as tea, it may be noted that in certain parts of the country there is an average rainfall of some 90 inches.
In the vicinity of Lake Victoria, where so far most of the rubber plantations of Uganda are located, the rainfall is about 60 inches per annum, or only about half that in common in the valley of the Amazon; but it is believed that this discrepancy will be compensated for by the fact that the rain falls in this part of Uganda at frequent intervals, that the dews are heavy, and that there are rarely more than six hours bright sunshine out of the twenty-four.
In some parts of the country, as for instance Usoga, population is scanty. This is often due to former ravages of sleeping sickness; these were so terrible in certain districts that one tribe, in which there were formerly 17,000 fighting men, was actually reduced to no more than 150 tax payers.
Western Uganda, which includes the districts of Toro and Ankole, is an elevated, mountainous land with a healthy climate where some of the European cereals can be grown, alongside of beans, maize, millet, sweet potatoes, etc., and in the lower parts, bananas, sim-sim, etc. The M'fumbiro Mountains to the South of Lake Edward, rise to a height of 15,000 feet and contain several of the ultimate sources of the White Nile. Some of them are active volcanoes frequently in eruption. Mount Ruwenzori itself is nearly 17,000 feet high.
Although 200 miles from the Railway, Toro is attracting considerable attention. The climate is healthy; the land is fertile and cheap, and the labour supply good. Imported articles are dear, but the cost of living is low, provisions such as meat, eggs, vegetables, etc., being procurable at very low prices. The variety of vegetables and plant life to be found within very limited areas is remarkable, but until better communication is provided, bulky crops cannot be grown for export.

Minerals. - So far these are of no importance, though discoveries of gold are reported now and again in Toro and elsewhere. Salt is, however obtained from the salt lakes in the provinces of Toro and Unyoro to the east of Lake Edward, many of which are situated in the precipitous hollows of extinct craters. Prior to the ravages of sleeping sickness, this salt formed the base of an extended trade, stretching away into the Belgian Congo. Small quantities or iron ore are smelted by the natives in the Western Province.

Manufacturies. - So far Industries are in their infancy, but the resources of water power in the Western District are enormous and will doubtless play their part in the future economic history of the country.

The Busoga Railway, metre gauge, opened in 1912, is the property of the Uganda Protectorate, but worked under arrangement by the Uganda Railway. It runs from Jinja on Lake Victoria to Namasagali, 61 m. on Lake Kioga, whence steamers run to all parts of the Lake and thus provide means of transport to the fertile lands of Central Uganda. The Capital expenditure was in 1917, L 226,740; the working expenses were L 10,194 and Revenue L 12,926. One steamer is maintained on Lake Victoria, and three, with several 100 ton barges, on Lake Kioga and Kwania.

The level of the lakes varies considerably, the extremes in 1916-17 differing by 2 1/2 metres, which impedes the handling of heavy produce, such as cotton. The widely divergent areas of the lakes would be of greater utility in developing the country around were it not for the sudd, through which channels must be cut and maintained at considerable expense.

Port Bell to Kampala Railway. - This replaces the old monorail tram and the man-driven trucks. It is hoped that, after the war, it will form a link in the continuation of the railway from Kisumu, tapping the Western districts of the Protectorate.

The capital expended on the line to 1918 was L 32,220. The Revenue was L 4,240 and the working expenses L 2,971, which does not leave sufficient to meet interest on capital. The shortness of the line, 5 1/2 miles, is against profitable working.

There are over five hundred miles of metalled and un-metalled roads available for motors in Uganda. In addition, there are those over which carts can pass when it is dry, as well as the native tracks which are available for bicycles at the same period.
The Kasinga Channel between Lakes Edward and George and the River Semliki, which connects Lakes Edward and Albert, are said to be navigable for canoes, but are closed at present owing to sleeping sickness. When opened up, this waterway will tap the Toro District.
A steamer launch and four boats are maintained at Lake Albert.








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