CHAPTER V

THE HISTORY OF SCIENCE AND

TECHNOLOGY IN UGANDA BEFORE 1900
 5.3 Prologue

Science involves looking at the natural world and

trying to explain why things are the way they are
whereas Technology involves looking at nature and
trying to manipulate and modify it to suit man’s needs.
Science and Technology are rather very old words but
technology is believed to be older.
This is because science involves a lot of theory but
early man involved himself in many technologies
without knowing why things were happening the way
they did..
Originally, people believed that their lives were
dependent solely on fate determined by the various
“gods”.
However, after observing the behaviour of nature,
they realised that they could predict occurrences and
manipulate the environment to their own advantage,
hence the development of Science and Technology
The history of Uganda reflects the rich innovative technologies
of Africa, that developed in line with the most significant needs
of the people as various local communities progressed.
Lying astride the equator, most of Uganda consists of a fertile
plateau (with an average elevation of 4000 ft/ 1,220m), in the
centre of which is Lake Kyoga.
The plateau is bounded by the western branch of the Great Rift
valley, including Lakes Albert and Edward and the Albert Nile
river; by the Rwenzori mountain ranges in the south west; by
Lake Victoria in the south and by several mountain ranges in
the east and north including Mt. Elgon and Mt. Moroto
These features played an important role in meeting
the needs of the population, while at the same time
encouraging the (early) inhabitants to explore the
limits and boundaries of their skill in order to
overcome the obstacles they presented. Politically
during this period kingdoms were subdivided into
counties for easy administration and officials were
appointed to help the kings in their task of
administering their subjects, collection of taxes
among other duties.
 Socially the different king dorms were united by
their respective kings since they were regarded as
supreme beings with super natural powers .
work and duties were done to please the king and
through there was contact with other king dorms
and their people ,intermarriage was not allowed it
was strictly trading relations treaties that prevailed
in such circumstances
With the different kingdoms, each had its
economic worth but some greatly surpassed others
in terms of trade .for instance Buganda and
Bunyoro kingdoms were the power houses in
terms of trade.
Business flourished in these two kingdoms but
later on Buganda got an edge over Bunyoro since
the merchants and Arabs took a particular interest
in it because of its friendly kings who welcomed
them to trade
 5.4 The Period Before 1500 AD

5.4.1 Introduction
Uganda has been inhabited since the Stone Age.
Evidence of early man has been found in Nsongezi
and Sango Bay and the earliest human inhabitants in
contemporary Uganda were hunter-gatherers.
Residuals of these people are today to be found
among the pygmies in western Uganda.
Between approximately 2000 to 1500 years ago,
Bantu speaking populations from central and
western Africa migrated and occupied most of the
southern parts of the country including the above
mentioned sites.
The migrants brought with them agriculture,
ironworking skills and new ideas of social and
political organization, that by the 15th or 16th
century resulted in the development of centralized
kingdoms, including the kingdoms of Buganda,
BunyoroKitara and Ankole.
Nilotic people, including Luo and Ateker entered the area from
the north probably beginning about 100 A.D. They were cattle
herders and subsistence farmers who settled mainly the
northern and eastern parts of the country. Some Luo invaded
the area of Bunyoro and assimilated with the Bantu there,
establishing the Babiito dynasty of the current Omukama (ruler)
of Bunyoro-Kitara. Luo migration proceeded until the 16th
century, with some Luo settling amid Bantu people in Eastern
Uganda, and proceeding to the western shores of Lake Victoria
in Kenya and Tanzania. The Ateker (Karimojong and Teso
peoples) settled in the north-eastern and eastern parts of the
country, and some fused with the Luo in the area north of Lake
Kyoga.
It is difficult to isolate the trends in science and
technology for this period in Uganda since there
were no geographical boundaries. However, it can be
noted that the trends in science and technology in
this region were as a result of numerous
immigrations and interaction with people of the
neighbouring areas.
 Immigration also led to increase in population in
some areas, which is a major factor of development.
This in turn resulted in the need for people to live in
settlements of small villages that later grew into
kingdoms and chieftaincies each running its own
affairs.
Under such organized society, people had to
specialize in areas of agriculture and industry as a
contribution to the well-being and development of
their respective societie
 5.4.2 Industry

Stone-Age Tools
During the early stone-age, the Hominids used
pebble tools and later all purpose stone axes and
natural traps, gradually becoming skilled hunters.
After hundreds of thousands of years of relatively
undifferentiated tools came the regional
development and diversification of the middle stone
age.
Larger populations with more varied settlement and
subsistence patterns were able to exploit their
environment more effectively than before.
The larger acheulian hand axes of the early stone age
were replaced by more diverse tools made by striking
flakes off a core into flake blades and flake spear
points, crescents and scrapers. Adzes, gouges and
matches were developed in the forest zones
The small blade technology developed from ancestral
middle age industries between 40,000 to 15,000 BC.
Bored stones for weighted digging sticks and grinding
stones suggested greater emphasis on food gathering.
Fauna remains everywhere show a move from hunting
of smaller woodland animals to hunting of large
gregarious creatures of the middle stone age times.
Initially, industries were based on macrolithic scrapers
and the hunting of large herds of antelopes which
separated them from the microlithic cultures of the
wide spread microlithic stone age industry (also called
the “Later stone age industry”)
From the 7th century, the wilton industry complex
emerged over a large part of the area characterised
by the predominance of small convex scrapers and
backed microlithics.
 This seems to represent a single culture reflecting
changing fashions and local adaptations rather
than any culture or ethnic distinction among the
toolmakers.
The wilton industry was followed by another phase
of larger scraper based industry.
During the later stone age, hunter-gatherers
appeared to have been organized in loose bands of
which the family was the basic unit.
By using bows and arrows often tipped with
poison, snares, and traps, they achieved grater
dominance over the environment.
With hooks, barbed spears and wicker baskets,
they were able to catch fish from rivers and lake
shores.
Remnants of hunting and gathering communities
or at least the memory of them is found in such
places as the pygmies of western Uganda
The basis of mechanized civilization lies in the tools and craft
that gradually developed in the prehistoric times.
Improvement grew from experience in exploiting materials
and development processes to cope with domestic needs. As
craft skills increased and tools and devices were improved,
there followed local specialisation and a small scale industry.
The earliest tools i.e. the spear shaped fist axes of the
Palaeolithic period were not suitable for fashioning other
tools. This need was met in the later Paleolithics by the
earlier described use of stone flakes for cutting and scraping
with cutting edges prepared by pressing off flake chips. By
Neolithic time, granular stone was rubbed (ground) to shape.
Stone was bored using stick or hollow reed, armed
with sharp sand and twirled between the palms.
Note that hand tools were mainly used for war,
hunting, cutting food and fibre. The typical tool kit
contained hammers, clearers, scrapers, cutters and
pointers for piercing.
Iron Work
It is not clear when iron smelting reached Uganda.
Certainly, there was no sudden shift or complete
transfer from stones to iron. From early times,
early age people made use of metals
and settled near deposits of iron and other
minerals. Iron was in common use by about 700
BC. It was smelted with charcoal in open fire,
making use of the updraft on windy hillsides. The
iron thus produced was soft and brittle. Reheating
with charcoal and hammering removed impurities
and transformed it to steel.
Other Minerals
A great step towards mechanization followed from
the utilization of other metals for tools and
construction.
Copper, the earliest used, had substantial
advantages over stone, but could be cast and easily
shaped.
Bronze came into use in about 2000 BC after the
proportions in the alloy were controlled.
Mining Process
All mining work was done using stone tools such as the anvil
and a hammer made of steel. Miners would physically dig up
the minerals and out of four baskets of mud dug, there was
about one basket ore obtained. Women were refused access to
mines because they were looked at superstitiously as bad
omen. The miners were given some quantities of ore as salary
which they used for making cutting knives.
Later, more sophisticated techniques of metal working like
gold and copper working were developed. The build up of
herds of animals in the early iron age may have provided a
catalyst for this and perhaps it was in response to the
production of other items like salt from regions in the late
stone age period. Some communities became known for their
specialist craftsmanship and settled near exponentially good
iron or clay deposits
Simple based pottery and other related pottery often
associated with the spread of iron working commenced.
Significantly, styles of pottery that do not seem to be
related to those that became wide spread in the 1st century
AD can be assumed to originate from Cushitic speakers
where changes in location and nature of settlement and for
greater emphasis on cattle keeping and milk.
Other technologies included the bow drill that reduced the
labour and in the following; Bronze Age, hooked metal
tools and weighted cranks permitted the harrowing of
narrow-mouthed stone vessels.
Woodworking
Woodworking was often laborious. Wood was split
with wedges and fire as an active agent, trimmed or
hollowed by scrapping away the charcoal.
Pieces were reduced to length by scrapping after
drilling a line of holes or cutting a kert.
 Joining was by lashing or sewing through pairs of
holes. The art of dowelling, mortising and
dovetailing were developed a few centuries later.
Spears, hoes, arrows and other ornaments were
also made from wood and bones. .
Clothing and Wares
Originally, people wore skins and hides but in later
centuries, the Baganda discovered a tree called
‘mutuba’ and its bark was used to make bark cloth
for clothing and sleeping in.
Crafts and Pottery
Some crafts were invented to meet a precise and
perceived need.
These were made by spinning of threads and
weaving reeds.
These included drums, mats and baskets.
 Between 900 AD and 1000 AD, a new type of
pottery was discovered at sanzi, Ssi and Bukunja. A
vessel believed to be less than 1000years old was
reconstructed and it had curved wooden roulette
decoration around the rim.
Transport and Communication
Transport
Before the evolution of mechanized means of transport, man
used to walk and carry his luggage on his head.
Later, man constructed litters and rollers to ease
transportation of his goods.
Old artifacts describe transport vehicles as logs or crude
boats for water transport. People progressed to dugout
canoes around 20,000 years ago.
Ancient people developed ways of building rafts using reeds,
bundles, logs, grasses and other materials and at times with
added floatation from skin bags or scalp bladders.
From rafts, man started making boats with built up hulls
using frame works covered by animal skins.
Communication
Initially, communication was by means of fire and/or smoke.
Later, man changed to drums.
Drums were made of cow or goatskin and tree trunks to
enhance communication.
The rulers/kings had special drums to summon their
subjects.
Transportation was by foot and as the population increased
frequent movements of people led to the growth of several
footpaths, which were later developed into roads and modern
day highways.
 In conclusion, need for the development of transport routes
was as a result of a need for easy means of transporting goods
for trade which will be explored in detail in the next Chapter
Agriculture
Originally, man lived in caves and forests and was
basically a hunter gatherer. He hunted animals and
collected wild fruits for food.
Animals were basically skinned and meat cut to pieces
using sharp stones.
Then man began making several new inventions of the
highest importance. Of these, the most useful was how
to grow food and tame animals.
After man discovered fire, he used it to clear bushes
thus the land became easy to cultivate. Burning bushes
scared away dangerous wild animals making it more
secure for man. Man also started cooking food using
the now widely used fire.
Historians believe that revolution in science and
all other fields were based on food production.
 Initially, the tools used for digging were sticks
and some sort of stone pick like the kind used to
dig up yams.
 Stone picks are associated with a type of early
man called Sangoan.
With time, methods of agriculture steadily improved
though it was still practiced on a small scale for
domestic consumption.
Bananas became the staple food for the indigenous
people particularly the Bantu.
Cattle keeping and milking became a common
practice following the influence of the Nomadic
Cushitic people.
The invention of agriculture led to a favourable
environment for man to settle.
Man stopped roaming about thus started living in
larger communities.
Food was obtained from fishing, wild plants like
yams, oil palm trees were cultivated near
homesteads and wild animals were also tamed.
Energy
Before 1500 AD, the main forms of energy were
solar energy. This was and has always been an
important form of energy. It was used in drying
certain foodstuffs e.g. potatoes and cassava
before storage for the dry season.
The discovery of fire was about 2000 years ago
and its use continued over the years with the
discovery of other forms of energy. Initially, fire
was produced by rubbing two rough sides of
stones to produce a spark.
Fire was used for the following purposes:
 Communication. When smoke was sighted at a
distance, this meant that that particular place was
inhabited.
 Cooking and roasting foodstuffs and meat.
 To scare away wild animals
 Since iron was discovered in 70 BC, fire became
important during smelting process. The smelting of
iron was done with charcoal in open fires.
 This was utilized in drawing food crops and as a
form of preservation.
Trade
This was basically barter trade were goods were
exchanged for goods.
Foodstuffs, hides and skins were the basic items
of trade.
Other goods exchanged included metallic
products and clay pots.
Building and Construction
Initially, man who was still a hunter-gatherer
lived in large trees and stone caves.
These acted as protection from the harsh weather
and dangerous wild animals.
However, due to migrations of various peoples,
inter- mixing of societies led to the discovery of
ways of building better form of shelter.
Man started building small grass huts (the huts’
walls and roof were made entirely of grass and
thin tree branches).
With improvement in farming and taming of
animals, man became innovative and started
building better structures of mud and wattle
walls and grass thatched roof for proper storage
of all his belongings.
Construction of significant features required
considerable mobilization of labour.
The great earthwork sites of Bigo bya Mugyenyi,
Mubende, Munsa, Kibengo and Bugoma in
western Uganda are linked to the Chwezi people.
The site at Mubende seems to have been a religious
centre.
At Bigo, there exist a ditch system over six and half
miles long some of it cut out of a rock enclosing a
large grazing arson a riverbank.
 It was designed to comprise a royal capital and a
well defended cattle enclosure.
With the discovery of controlled fire, the hunting
bands were able to make their camps out of make
shift mud and wattle prepared to be weather
(mainly rain) resistant.
They were thatched with grass in a style suitable
for protection.
These huts varied in design from one community
to another.
They were located not only near water sources in
dry savannah but also in the more heavily woody
areas.
Water
Given that 18% of Uganda is made up of water
surface, the early inhabitants of the country did
not suffer greatly in regard to its shortage.
Lakes and ponds were the major source of water
in this period.
Water was used for consumption (drinking and
cooking food), fishing, transport and watering
animals.
There were also isolated instances of digging of
wells especially for kings
Medicine
Since there was no specific description of disease
and medicine, Man used to eat leaves and roots of
wild plants which acted as both food and medicine.
Later with the migration and mixing of cultures,
medicine men, traditional healers and magicians
emerged.
Traditional healers specialized in research on better
leaves and herbs with healing for specific diseases
while magicians specialized in healing using magic
and spiritual powers.
However, the idea of cause and effect of changes in
the environment as opposed to the will of the gods
took hold much later.
Herbal medicine was used to treat ailments. Neem
tree for malaria fever, Sidney blue gum for treating
coughs etc. Traditional healers and herbalists did
not have explanations for using the medicines they
used but rather dosages depended on past
experience with the symptoms.
By the end of 1500 AD, the introduction of
informal education (transfer of knowledge) from
the old to their young ones helped improve on the
healing skills.
Education
Informal education evolved towards the end of
1500 AD which was basically a learning system
where knowledge was transferred from the old to
their young ones in homes.
An individual would be taught his role in society
depending on age and sex education involved
things like cultural morals and norms of the
society.
Learning was by hearing and observation.
Fathers taught their sons how to hunt, cultivate the
land, make weapons and war/ defense skills against
their enemies.
Girls were taught by their mothers and aunties how
to perform household chores like cooking, collecting
firewood, fetching water and agriculture.
Another form of transfer of knowledge was through
traditional stories and proverbs. Proverbs and taboos
were a form of education by warning to the
inexperienced
Fire was used for the following purposes:
 Communication. When smoke was sighted at a distance,
this meant that that particular place was inhabited.
 Cooking and roasting foodstuffs and meat.
 To scare away wild animals
 Since iron was discovered in 70 BC, fire became
important during smelting process. The smelting of iron
was done with charcoal in open fires.
 This was utilized in drawing food crops and as a form of
preservation.
 5.5 The Period 1500-1850 AD

5.5.1 Introduction
Uganda's population is made up of a complex and
diverse range of tribes. Lake Kyoga forms the
northern boundary for the Bantu-speaking peoples,
who dominate much of east, central and southern
Africa.
In Uganda they include the Baganda and several
other tribes. In the north live the Lango and the
Acholi, who speak Nilotic languages.
To the east are the Teso and Karamojong, who are
related to the Masaai and who also speak Nilotic
languages.
Pygmies live in the forests of the west. Indigenous
kingdoms arising out of these tribal groupings
popped up in Uganda in the 14th century,
including the Buganda, Bunyoro, Toro, Ankole and
Busoga kingdoms among others.
Over the following centuries, the Baganda people
created the dominant kingdom.
The tribes had plenty of time to work out their
hierarchies as there was very little penetration of
Uganda from the outside until the 19th century.
Despite the fertility of the land and its capacity to
grow surplus crops, there were virtually no trading
links with the East African coast.
Contacts were finally made with Arab traders and
European explorers in the mid-19th century - the
latter came in search of ivory and slaves
This period (1500 – 1850 AD) of Uganda’s history was
characterized by continued population growth,
development of traditional civilization and expansion
of food supplies and other forms of wealth.
Notable in this period were the growth of trade and
the continuous wars of expansion between kingdoms.
However, there had evolved a wide variety of self rule,
most of which were kingdoms and chieftaincies.
Their everyday lives were enriched and protected by
flexible legal systems of powerful spiritual beliefs and
customs.
5.5.2 Industry
Industrial production was carried out on very small
scale by groups of people and individuals. The main
areas of industrial production are discussed below.
Cloth industry
Clothes were made from animal skins and tree barks.
The animal skins were dried and modeled to cover the
body.
Game hunted in order to provide skins for this purpose
included buffalo, eland, antelope, zebra, bushbuck
(these animals were also hunted for their horns and
flesh). Especially in Buganda, leopard skin was
associated with royalty or at least considerable
authority.
The skins were used for clothing before barkcloth
was discovered, and also for mats. Additionally,
sandals were made from cowhide and buffalo hide.
With the discovery of the barkcloth, the use of
skins for clothing became minimal at best.
The barkcloth of Buganda was the most renowned
in the region. Generally, it was the role of women
to strip the bark from the trees, but actual
manufacture was a male preserve.
There were over 19 varieties of trees for barkcloth
including the mutuba tree and maturation took 2
years, these trees usually being located within
plantations.
After fermentation, the first stripping of the bark
was beaten with the mallet nsaasi which had
particulary large grooves.
The choice of mallet was critical in the process
which actually produced the cloth. Nsera referred to
a mallet with slightly smaller grooves and towards
the end of the process, a mallet known as nzituzo
was used patterning and had very fine grooves.
 It is unclear how common dyeing was as barkcloths
were often naturally coloured, such as ndogo which
was comparatively dark. The red dye was produced
from a crimson coloured deposit found in streams,
the deposit was mixed with ashes and water
Black dye was produced by boiling a herb called
mzugizi.
Kitentegere was a rough bark used for burials and
other occasions where finery was not necessary.
Barkcloths intended for use in beds were much
thicker than those intended for wear. Sango, in
southern Buddu just north of the Kagera river, was
renowned for barkcloth
. Barkcloth was also used in royal burial and for the
King a kind of species was grown which gave a
white barkcloth; this was used at coronation, but
seldom at other times. Barkcloth was dominant for
a century or more; in the early 1860’s, bundles of
barkcloth were still being presented regularly to
the Kabaka as tribute, and by the early 1890’s the
fabric was still prevalent.
Salt
Salt was an important mineral. Humans and animals used it for
consumption purposes. Southwestern Uganda in particular was
well endowed with three locations of salt extraction including
Lake Katwe, Bunyampaka (Kasenyi) in Kasese and Kibiro in
Hoima. Extraction from Lake Katwe, river Kabiga was done
using the crystallization method. Sand along the banks of the
water bodies was washed and the filtered water (salt solution)
heated to evaporate the water to extract the salt.
The salt formed was then scrapped and used for trade,
preservation of food like fish and meat, human and animal
consumption. In some communities like the Luo, wood ash was
filtrated and used as salt.
 However, few places had a method of extracting salt as
technically superior as in Kibiro found in the kingdom of
Bunyoro.
The Kibiro salt springs had a low sodium chloride
content (0.41%) and to produce salt by boiling this
solution would have required an unsustainable amount
of firewood, so instead water was channeled into salt
gardens where the sun’s heat drew the salty liquid up
into the surface soil.
Over a period of days, the salt content of this soil
increased so that when mixed with water and boiled, it
had a sodium chloride content of 97.9%.
 Bunyoro’s dominance of the regional salt trade was
reinforced by the reconquest of Busongora and Lake
Katwe’s salt mines in the late 19th Century.
Though these yielded salt in greater quantities it was of
a lower quality that the Kibiro salt.
Pottery and Craft
Pottery was one of the oldest industries in the
interlacustrine region. Royal chiefs provided the
demand for luxury items of aesthetic value often
unrivalled in other interlacustrine societies.
The best pottery and basketry and wooden vessels were
produced by Banyoro and the Baganda are said to have
adopted a number of pottery styles from Bunyoro.
The Banyoro craftsmen manufactured thin, black
earthenware which although brittle was much superior
to the usual manufactures in red clay.
The pottery industry produced clay pots and
decorations. Basins were also among the pottery
products.
Pots were used for collecting water, cooking food, brewing
beer storage of water and milk. In Buganda pottery
products were found in most parts of the kingdom where
enough bbumba or clay could be found (red/ black clay was
normally used).
Two kinds of pottery, a coarse and fine variety, were
manufactured with water vessels and cooking utensils
forming the coarse pottery products and tobacco pipes and
drinking cups forming the fine pottery products. The
pottery was burnt after moulding into shape using huge
fires with quantities of dried grass mixed in, after which the
pots were placed in the hot ash for an hour or two
 Pottery was thus a significant industry both economically
and culturally. Basketwork and weaving was largely a
female industry and homestead activity- baskets were
generally made with the young leaves of the wild palm or
with banana and plantain fibres.
These baskets and mats were mainly for home use and
later with the development of trade, were sold/ exchanged
as commodities.
Each tribe had its musical history; songs were passed down
from generation to generation. Ndingidi (lyre), entongoli
(harp), amadinda (xylophone) and lukeme (thumb piano),
drums and whiskers were commonly played instruments.
The musical instruments were used for communication
and during traditional ceremonies and dances.
Iron
Iron was as important among the lakes of the Great Rift as it was
elsewhere as human society flourished. Iron mining, smelting
and forging into axes, spears, pangas, hoes and knives was done
on a small scale. Metal technology was critical to the military
and economic growth, of kingdoms.
The first iron ore smelting in the interlacustrine region occurred
in Bunyoro.
The production of iron ore and agricultural implements was an
important step, not to say anything about the forging of iron
weapons which must have helped Bunyoro build its vast empire.
Originally, spears were made of wood.
 The shift from wood to iron is symbolic of a gradual
transformation which deeply affected the kingdom’s military
structures and strategies as well as the metal-working economy
itself
With the replacement of wooden spearheads by iron ores,
the smelting industry took on a new and vital dimension.
These iron spears and arrowheads were important for
successful warfare. With the quest for kingdoms to expand,
wars developed thus need to increase production of
weapons.
This resulted in the development of the iron industry.
Banyoro iron smelters selected the best wood for charcoal
for their simple furnaces and their methods of mixing the
different kinds of ore to make good metal shows evidence of
careful testing and investigation.
Iron workers bought pig iron from the smelters, shaped and
cut it, and sold it to smiths who used metal rather than the
more common stone hammers resulting in products famed
for their durability.
Some of the Banyoro’s skills in iron working were absorbed
by the Baganda as the two societies interacted. Iron which
was mined in Kavirondo, for example, was carried west in
an unworked form to Buganda and Busoga, where it was
made into hoes. Later on, unworked iron was also
increasingly imported for making bullets.
 Iron was also used to make ornaments fitted on the arms of
basekabaka or deceased kings.
 It was under Kabaka Chwa that spearheads were first
made.
While many states in the region did rely on imported iron,
Buganda’s resource base was markedly inferior to that of
other societies around the Great Lakes.
This is not intended, however, to convey the impression
that the Ganda mined no iron of their own.
Much of the kingdom was covered with lateritic ironstone,
otherwise known as murram, from which it is possible to
extract iron ore e.g. in southern Kyagwe. Emin Pasha
considered that ore in Buganda was derived from two
main sources: bog iron ore in low-lying ground and, more
commonly, “clay ironstone” found lying upon granite on
higher ground.
Granite was certainly found in the western parts of Buddu
and Singo, which goes some way towards verifying Emin
Pasha’s remarks.
Mining and smelting was done on a small scale by bakopi
using charcoal made from particular kinds of wood.
Foreign influence assisted the development of iron
working. Knowledge of iron extraction was not as
widespread as that of iron working.
In kingdoms like Toro, iron working was the only
source of income.
People developed craft skills to make hoes and
spears out of ore.
Hoes were used as bride price and also
exchanged for cows and goats.
The discovery of iron ores was said to be by
‘Omojumbuzi’, the ruler and he made regular
sacrifices and other rituals at the mine to ensure
that the mines were available for the subjects
5.5.3 Transport and Communication
There was a transformation in communication from
the use of fire and signs to drums, flutes, and horns
as a communication media.
There was a growing demand for better
communication skills because of the increase in
population.
Due to mixture of culture through immigration,
there was a need for a common language to enhance
trade, technology and science.
Increase in population resulted into a need to adopt
permanent paths rather than seasonal footpaths
that later developed into real trade routes.
The major means of transport was by foot. Roads
used were merely tracks through kingdoms and
an attempt to improve them was only done when
a king or chief was touring the area.
However with the development of domestic trade
between kingdoms, the quality and width of
roads improved.
Road Transport
Buganda in particular had the widest and most
spectacular roads at this time; the roads leading to the
Kabaka and chiefs enclosures were especially broad as
an expression of grandeur. Within the kingdom, the
roads were generally broad (20 – 150 ft), with some of
the best being found in the capital. However some of
the outlying, less important roads were, naturally,
considerably narrower (about 10 inches on average).
The roads of Buganda were both the lifelines reaching
outward towards the positive centres of the kingdom
and the widening political and economic horizons.
 Roads were regularly maintained and cleared of
intrusive foliage.
Water was overcome via bridges, which were
either built on upright tree trunks (allowing
unhindered flow beneath) or trunks of wild date
palms laid side by side across floating vegetation
forming a causeway of interlaced pal logs covered
with brushwood, grass and a thick layer of earth.
Repairs on these systems were especially needed
after the rainy season for obvious reasons.
Responsibility for roads beyond the capital was clearly
decentralized though royal inspectors periodically
investigated the conditions of the highways and imposed
fines on local chiefs/ headmen considered remiss in the
execution of their duties.
Such fines may have been considerably heavier in areas
where the road network was especially valued and utilized.
 In all of the kingdoms, labour distinctions between the
sexes were identified thus; men were engaged in house-
building, women in house keeping and food provision but
in the realm of state labour women were not exempted
and were expected to assist in the cleaning of public
highways. Another source of labour for the maintenance of
roads was prisoners
Water Transport
By the second half of the 19th Century, canoes were being
built along lakeshores and on the islands in the various
kingdoms. Canoes were mainly solid dug-outs from pieces of
tree trucks.
The dugouts were used for short trips across the inland arms
of the lake and shallow fishing both along the lakeshore and
on rivers further inland.
Canoes particularly larger vessels, needed ports for landing,
collection and indeed, construction.
This therefore lead to a corresponding growth of ports and
landing sites within the kingdoms.
Before the second half of the 19th Century there were few
ports between the Nile and the Kagera river, but there existed
numerous small landing stages, used according to season.
These landing stages were use for construction of
smaller vessels and landing areas for fishing
canoes.
Generally ports developed in areas with a natural
incline/ steep slope to the lake/ river- the steeper
shores prevented flooding and made possible the
establishment of landing areas.
A suitable port/ landing site usually had an
adequate supply of timber nearby (for canoe
construction) e.g. ports were located at Usavura
(probably near modern Entebbe), Katongo and
Munyonyo.
The main types of wood used in Buganda were
mpewere and muvule (which hardened in water
and was resistant to termite attack).
For the navy, the wood types emiyoru and nkoba
were preferred for the sides of the vessel since
they were hard and thus resistant to violent
weather or leakage.
Canoe construction may have led to serious
depletion of forest areas, though the Ganda
probably made use of the leftover wood for canoe
manufacture.
There were obvious variations in construction
styles- the mmanvu (dugout canoe) was distinct
from the larger vessels constructed from planks: an
entire tree might be dug up, roots and all, to
minimize the risk of splitting the wood.
The required length and diameter were measured
and the tree was fashioned accordingly (the average
canoe length ranged from 10 to 15 ft, though some
were up to 20 ft long).
The trunk was hollowed, the ends tapered and the
bottom flattened- flattened floors facilitated the
transport of cattle across rivers or shallow bays off
the lake.
In addition the Ganda made use of kadyeri (a small raft) made by
lashing together palm-leaf stems, for fishing short distances off shore or
for laying traps in shallow water.
The “sewn canoe” was larger and built from planks. A high degree of
skill and competence in carpentry were necessary (for exact
measurement and weighing of various boards and planks).
 Planks were held together by pegs or skin thread, pulled through holes
made by hot spikes, and a kind of creeper was also sometimes used for
stitching which was in turn covered with a finer creeper for protection.
The stitching was caulked with tree fibre.
The canoe itself was often covered with a dye derived from real clay
mixed together with a dye derived from red clay mixed together with oil
or beer, and allowed to harden so that the joins and seams were
protected.
 Among the final touches, particularly for larger vessels, was the fixing
of animal horns to the brow to symbolize strength. These canoes were
between 50 – 70 ft in length, though one noted by Mackay was 80 ft
long by 5 ft wide.
 5.5.4 Trade
Domestic trade had long been taking place within
the interior.
Trading activities were mainly between producers
of commodities since it was still barter trade.
There existed barter trade amongst the individual
kingdoms of Bunyoro, Buganda, Toro etc.
They traded in items like spears, bark cloth, hoes,
axes, hides, skins, salt, pots, mats and baskets.
Opportunities for trade resulted in numerous small
markets along the frontier areas between Bunyoro
and Buganda, for example, Buganda traded bark
cloth for iron products like hoes and spears from
their neighbours, Bunyoro.
 Barkcloth was also exported to Ankole where it
was a prized commodity.
 Fees were levied on articles brought for sale in the
markets.
Eventually as barter trade died, the currency used
for trade was beads and later on, with the arrival of
the coastal merchants, cowries.
In 1844, the first coastal merchants arrived in Buganda and
the people of the interior started to trade with the people of
the East African coastline.
They traded in commodities like clothes, guns, beads and
glass.
Guns were an important item since there were inter-kingdom
wars.
Guns were superior to traditional spears although they were
old fashioned and required loading by first dropping a shot
down the muzzle.
 They were very unreliable and made a lot of noise, which
frightened people who knew little or nothing about them.
These guns were used especially by the Baganda who first got
access to them leading to their acquiring vast chunks of their
neighbours’ land.
The Arabs and Persians introduced palm, coconut, imported
daggers, hatchets and lances. In return, they were given ivory,
rhino horns, tortoise shells, wood and slaves.
The Arabs also introduced onions, wheat, rice, guavas,
pomegranates, pawpaws, mangoes and other fruits as well as
cotton cloth.
They also brought with them fezes, calico and red slippers. They
in turn took from Buganda ivory and slaves.
Slave trade led to depopulation and Buganda on the eve of
colonial rule had become to a very real extent commercially
weakened (wars also contributed to this situation).
Long distance trade also boomed in Bunyoro, where the most
important commodity was ivory sourced by professional
hunters.
Banyoro men were also known to sell their wives who had
displeased them as slaves
5.5.5 Agriculture
The tributary mode of production (where agricultural produce
was offered as tribute to patrons i.e. chiefs and kings) was
common during this period.
Agriculture was based mainly on food production and animal
rearing which was a crucial factor in the survival and
expansion of society resulting in a steady increase in the
population.
It seems that although men and women participated in grain
cultivation the greater burden fell on women.
 In the Great Lakes region men were often required to serve
their patrons, to herd cattle and to join military expeditions.
Patronclient relations was a personal free contract whereby a
man of wealth and high standing was offered personal services
by men of humble origin in exchange for political protection
and material support in times of need.
Livestock Rearing
Cattle keeping and pastoral cultivation were in general
highly esteemed in pre-colonial kingdoms. Cattle were
important economically for their diary products (rather
than meat as this meant loss of the animal), trade feasts,
sacrifices and the social reproduction of lineage groups-
cattle were given in exchange for women in societies in
which clan exogamy was the norm. The Kabaka and more
prominent Baganda chiefs regularly moved their herds
(from the capital) between their estate and the better
pastures; the purpose of circulation being the major
herds getting better pastures in which to graze for a
certain period and allowing superior ones to rejuvenate
through a system of pastoral rotation. Wells were dug for
the cattle in times of water shortage
Banyoro herders looked after their cattle in numerous
ways.
Cattle healers had an impressive knowledge of disease
prevention and healing.
Careful attention was given to breeding, grazing and
protection from the sun and insects.
Bunyoro grasslands were burnt at the height of the long
dry season to control disease-bearing insects and to
stimulate growth of good grass.
 For the poor, rather than cattle, mostly small stock
(goats, sheep and chickens)
were reared. In nomadic societies, the youth grazed the
cattle and got involved in cattle raiding.
The nomads mainly depended on animal products.
Cultivation
Not much was done to diversify agriculture. People
around lake Victoria concentrated on plantains while
those to the north of lake Kyoga grew millet and
sorghum.
In societies like Buganda, women and children
concentrated on food production while men went
hunting and fought wars.
In other agricultural societies, men worked alongside
women and children in cultivating the land.
 Farming practiced was basically subsistence and after a
few seasons when the soils were exhausted, the farmers
would move elsewhere to allow the soil to recover its
fertility.
Initially tools used for agriculture were sharp
sticks, bones and stones.
 Later due to growth of the population and
migration, production of tools from iron like
pangas, hoes and axes were used though
agricultural technology remained very
undeveloped (the hoe and the adze being the
main tools of production) and in the plaintain
zone alluvial soils of up to 14 feet deep made
shifting cultivation unnecessary.
Compost and cow dung were used to improve the soil
fertility.
Hardly any rotational farming had been introduced; the
plough which had come from as far south as Ethiopia
and the Sudan had not been adapted and despite large
numbers of oxen, no animal traction was practiced.
 Likewise despite the fact that cotton grew wild in many
parts of the region, no spinning and weaving had been
reported except for simple girdles for women since
hides and barkcloth were used for clothing.
In spite of this, iron tools eased and increased
production thus necessitating the construction of
granaries for food storage
All these must have coincided with perceived needs.
 Technologies remained within the confines of these
needs, despite the advent of the iron age in Bunyoro
and later in Buganda.
But the point to grasp is that, as long as their needs
were met, they had no reason to struggle.
The land was plentiful, the herds numerous and
supplies from agriculture ample.

In contrast to the plough and the wheel, adoption of

certain crops from Asia, from the New World and
Europe was as fast as could be expected.
The agricultural surplus drove the exchange
economy and domestic trade between kingdoms.
 Moreover, food production was undoubtedly
further diversified with the development of long-
distance trade with the East African coast.
Stanley mentions tomatoes and kidney beans, for
example, which may have been introduced by
coastal traders.
Arab merchants probably began their own
cultivation after 1860.
Fishing
Fishing was one of the key economic activities of
pre-colonial Ugandan kingdoms.
Each river had its own deity to be appeased,
thanked, entreated for the produce and prosperity
so vital to the survival and the growth of
communities.
Fishing was critical to the regional diet (especially
for the poor) and the local economy and
undoubtedly played an important role in the early
growth of the states.
Dried fish generally supplemented lake/ river
fishing
In Buganda, this industry remained unaffected
by long-distance lake travel and labour demands.
Enormous canoes were used in this activity.
 Ngege or tilapia was the most important species
of fish; while others included kingfish, barbells,
catfish and Nile perch.
Basket traps, mostly used on inland rivers, were
made of cane, or else stiff reeds commonly found
along the lakeshore, while ropes were made from
buyanja a type of grass which grew near the
water.
The historical growth of river fishing was
impeded in many parts of Buganda by kifuuyi or
sudd, a mass of floating vegetation obstructing
the course of a stream or river e.g. in Katonga
and Kagera rivers and fishing often involved
wading into the water equipped with spears or
nets, or standing on the bank.
Fishing, however, flourished on the Nile between
modern day Jinja and Bulondoganyi.
Spears used in fishing were made of long heavy
poles with two-iron spikes, tied prong fashion to
one end.
Using the spear required a lot of skill. Inland
fishermen also used herbs, muluku, which they
sprinkled in the water in order to poison fish,
which were then picked off the surface of the water.
In northern Buganda, basket traps were used-
trenches were dug into swamps in order to create a
network of artificial streams and at various
intersections ‘the baskets were laid on their sides
and the fish driven into them’.
River fishermen may also have fastened basket
traps in running streams or in places where the
streams had overflowed the banks and spread
over large tracts of country, baskets were placed
strategically during the breeding season to allow
fish to swim in. However this type of inland
fishing was affected by periods of low rainfall.
Ssese (though not other Ganda) also hunted crocodiles
and hippos for their flesh, and hippo teeth were almost
as valuable as ivory.
On the other hand, Banyoro hippo hunters used a
specially adapted spear that was attached by a long
line to an enormous float.

Fish was little eaten in Bunyoro except by the fishing

communities who were ‘of conspicuously better
physique than upland Banyoro’ e.g. in upland Kihoko.
Banyoro in Kibiro, for example, had developed
unusual labour saving methods of catching fish, such
as complex fish traps and fixed lines.
5.5.6 Construction
During this period, kingdoms expanded with increased
population and acquiring land. Since most tribes were
polygamous and the concept of extended families was
in place, people lived in large homesteads made of
mud and wattle houses with grass thatched roofs.
King’s palaces, though elaborate and filled with
aristocratic airs, consisted of simple structures made
also of wattle and daub crowned with thatched roofs-
all too basic to lay foundations for advanced
civilization.
Huts were designed to protect people from the harsh
weather conditions and wild animals
 Nomads built very temporary shelters since they
stayed in one place for a short time.
A framework of sticks tied with plantain fibres was
used.
These sticks were fixed into the ground to a depth
of about two feet and thatched with grass to make it
warm enough for the nomad.
The agricultural tribes used mud, which was later
rendered with cow dung for the walls.
The roof was made of a network of sticks tied with
plantain fibre that meet at a point in the center of
the hut and supported by a main pole. Elephant
grass was used for roofing.
The Bakene people who lived in the swampy area
of lake Kyoga had a unique style of architecture.
They built floating houses with freely growing
papyrus grass as the foundation.
Papyrus root formed the foundation, other stems
laid across the first layer in the opposite direction.
 A layer was added upon the other to form a strong
floor raised above the water.
Stout branches of the trees inserted into the
foundation in form of a circle according to the size
of the required hut were then bent inwards and
their tops bound together.
Horizontal rows of papyrus were tied round the
frame at intervals from the top thus making a form
of inverted basket.
 It was further thatched with grass for protection
from the cold.
Granaries were mainly wicker baskets raised from
the ground upon stone or wooden frame resting
posts, which were let into the ground.
The lid was heavily thatched to ward off the rain.
The basket lid was smeared inside with clay or cow
dung to make it waterproof and prevent grain from
running out through the crevices.
5.5.7 Water
There was not much scarcity of water in the region
where present day Uganda is located. Women and
children collected water from lakes, rivers, streams
and swamps.
Kabaka Kintu during his reign as king of Buganda
is known to have dug a pond on the slopes of
Bugondo hill in Busiro-county to provide water for
domestic use, animal consumption and fishing.
 In areas that were inhabited by nomads, people
moved from one area to another in such for water
for their cattle.
5.5.8 Energy
The major forms of energy were basically natural. This
was solar energy thus activities that required this energy
like drying of foodstuffs as a means of preservation were
done during the day.
Firewood was mainly used for cooking food and
medicinal herbs to cure disease.
 Special kinds of trees were also used to make charcoal
which was used to smelt iron ore in open fires.
Tree branches and pieces of the stem were buried with a
small inlet for air.
 Fire was set on the wood, as it was being covered with
grass plantain leaves and soil. Three days later, the
charcoal formed was split into small pieces for use.
5.5.9 Medicine
During this period, medicine was in form of herbs
initially administered by trial and error.
 But later, specific herbs were known to cure specific
illnesses, for example, ‘mululuza’ was a known remedy
for malaria fever.
For ordinary illnesses like fever, stomach pains and
wounds, family members administered treatment at
home.
Most Banyoro had a positive image of traditional
medicine and used herbs like phylotacca dodecandra
(an effective uterine stimulant for constipation
problems) and the alstonia boonei bark (commonly
used for stomach complaints).
In case of persistent or strange diseases and
symptoms, patients would often be taken to a
herbalist or a witchdoctor who would treat the
patient at his home or in a shrine.
Goats, sheep, cattle or chicken would be taken to
the healers as sacrifices or as payment for the
services offered.
As the patient heals from the strange disease, he
would be required to dispose the diseases causing
evil spirit off in a distant area to avoid infecting
others in the community.
Witchdoctors would claim to drive the spirits into
other animals or mediums.
In case of an epidemic, the problem was assumed
to be caused by an evil spirit that one of the
members of the community had brought them.
Using divine power, this member was identified
and ordered to leave the community as a condition
for the epidemic to stop.
In case of animal deaths, some healthy animals
would be sacrificed to save the rest from the wrath
of the gods.
The Baganda believed in the supreme gods who
had intermediary spirits called ‘Lubaale’,
‘Mayembe’ and ‘Misambwa’.
People believed mainly in divinities like dead kings
were believed to become Lubaales and their subjects
made sacrifices to them.
They offered blood of sheep, goats and hens for
appeasement, to have their lives prolonged and
cause more wealth
Some gods were known to be responsible for
certain illnesses for example ‘ndaula’ was the god
of small pox, ‘kauka’ was the cattle-god of foot
and mouth disease and ‘nyalwa’ was the cattlegod
to preserve the health of the herd.
 No disrespect was given to any of the gods or
their mediums.
Though people had preference of the
witchdoctors they went to in case of an illness,
this did not apply to gods.
 5.6 The Period 1850-1900

5.6.1 Introduction
During this period, most of the developments in
science and technology were the outcome of
combined efforts of the early foreigners such as the
Arabs, the Colonialists, Indians and the Christian
missionaries.
 In particular, new technological advancements of
this age were introduced by the Europeans and built
upon the previously absorbed Arab technologies.
Following trade routes, European explorers
arrived in Buganda in 1862 in search of the
source of the Nile.
In their wake came the first Christian
missionaries in the 1870’s- French Catholics and
British Protestants, both keen to spread the
gospel in the densely settled lands of Buganda.
 And out of this religious conflict was to come the
colonial conquest of the 1890’s.
However, before the arrival of foreigners, the
indigenous people had developed their own
technology to some extent though they hardly knew
the theoretic explanations behind these processes.
Their work was mainly composed of manipulative
skills.
It is hoped that the previous section concerning the
period 1500 – 1850 AD has given the reader an
appreciation of indigenous technologies, and the fact
that these technologies were no less inferior to the
Arab/ European advancements introduced.
 Rather, the indigenous technology was based, as all
are, on meeting needs using the available resources
and materials within the region
5.6.2 Indigenous Technology
By the second half of the 19th Century, a wide variety
of traps and implements were in use among fishing
communities, depending on environment and
quarry.
Drag-nets, floating lines hung with iron holes and as
mentioned previously, variously sized basket traps
were among the most common tools.
Line fishing was common in Teso, and with time fish
scoops were introduced in this region.
A trace of science is marked from this period
whereby salt was being extracted in the raw form
and used for preservation of fish and meat.
The salt was also used as a currency in trade.
 The salt after processing was packed in banana
fibres and could be bartered for food.
 As a major trade commodity, salt was also
exchanged for items like cloth and guns. Salt
continued to be mined from places such as L.
Katwe, Toro and Kibiro springs
Pottery was one of the most important industrial
sectors.
This had been enabled by the transformation from the
stone age to the fire age- clay would be used to make
pottery and later placed in a furnace.
The furnace was made from red anthill mud packed
with banana fibre and reeds at the bottom.
As a result, pots and other ceramics were produced.
The wood industry produced bowls as carvings of wood.
It was mainly dominated by the Karamajong. Important
assets produced from wood included; stools, handles
for knives and pangas, doors, windows etc. Other
indigenous handcrafts included weaving, bowls, mats
etc.
In agriculture, crops were cultivated on a
subsistence level where the fertility of the soils was
enhanced by mulching using grass or leaves.
Granaries were built for storage of farm products
like grain.
Besides growing crops, people also reared animals;
these included cattle, goats, sheep, and birds.
Cattle were of great value because they provided
food (in the form of milk and meat), skins for
clothing, as a trade commodity etc.
The dung from cattle and goats was used as
fertilizer and the horns as music instruments
The kingdoms, most especially Buganda and
Bunyoro, made dramatic attempts to control trade
and deal with the coastal merchants on their own
terms resulting in the construction of canoes and
boats for transportation across lakes.
Buganda developed a navy capable of travelling the
full length of Lake Victoria and in the 1870’s and
1880’s, the enormous canoes of Buganda featured
prominently in the organisation of the long-
distance commerce and rendered marginal the
older land routes to the west of the lake.).
Some of the boats used on the lake were large and
ornate e.g. the Kabaka’s boat was 60 feet in length
and required eighteen people to paddle.
 In the 1880’s, Kabalega determined to expand
Bunyoro’s political and economic influence
westward, leading to the construction of huge royal
canoes in the Budongo forest and these could be
found on Lake Albert and the Nile.
Influenced by the long-distance trade with the
coastal merchants, by the 19th Century the main
aim of hunting was the provision of ivory, which had
a more tangible economic value by the 1850’s and
1860’s (till hit by redundance in 1880’s
The kingdoms were constantly warring with each
other in a bid to expand their territories and human
depopulation was caused by the civil war and
political upheaval from 1888 onward.
Slaves (for sale to the coastal merchants) were also
an important commodity acquired during such wars.
These wars however, adversely affected the
development of the kingdoms and led to a decline in
the quality of existing technologies- as can be seen in
the case of Buganda where the superior road
network fell into disrepair.
Religious wars, drought and famine also added to
the problems faced by the kingdoms.
Livestock suffered heavily during the drought and
food shortages of the early 1880’s, and also from
the spread of diseases makebe (east coast fever).
However, even here the indigenous people
exhibited once again their creative innovation in
trying to curb this disease- in Buganda, in 1903, a
colonial official noted the prevalence of makebe
reporting that “the best known among the Wahima
appears to slightly incise the growth and to blister
with the juice of the Euphorbia tree” which would
save around a third of the cattlehead.
In spite of their efforts, the livestock diseases were
a cause of the collapse of the agricultural economy.
Food shortages, resulting from widespread
abandonment of plantations, became both chronic
and frequent in the last years before colonial rule
with heightened social and political insecurity.
 Moreover, the gravity of the economic situation
was almost certainly a factor in the ease with which
Imperial British East African Company (IBEAC)
established itself in Buganda, and from there other
kingdoms.
5.6.3 Development of Science and Technology
Arrival of Foreigners
With the coming of foreigners, there was a change and
advancement in science and technology which generally
changed the way of life in Uganda. Isa bin Hussein, a
soldier was the first non Negro to penetrate into Uganda.
He arrived in the court of the king of Buganda- Suuna
around 1849-1850. From 1860, there was a permanent
Arab settlement at or near the Ganda capital, at which
time the Arab merchants probably began their own
cultivation.
It is clear that within a few years their produce had
begun to permeate the indigenous husbandry.
 In 1820, Egypt invaded Sudan in search of slaves
and in the 1860’s and 1870’s Egypt’s ambitions
extended as far as Bunyoro. Bunyoro was at the
terminus of two different trading systems, one based
in Zanzibar and the other in Khartoum.
Kabalega therefore had to fight off threats posed by
Sudanese slavers, the Egyptian empire and
Buganda.
Emin Pasha visited the royal capital of Bunyoro and
commercial centres such as Kibiro in the 1860’s
during which time Sudanese and coastal merchants
also acquired Banyoro for slaves, though in limited
numbers.
In 1862, John Hannington Speke and James
Grant, British explorers interested in establishing
the source of the Nile, became the first Europeans
to visit Buganda.
They met with Mutesa I, as did Henry M. Stanley,
who reached Buganda in 1875. Mutesa, fearful of
attacks from Egypt, agreed to Stanley’s proposal to
allow Christian missionaries (who Mutesa
mistakenly thought would provide military
assistance) to enter his realm.
Members of the British Protestant Church
Missionary society arrived in 1877, and they were
followed in 1879 by representatives of the French
Roman Catholic White Fathers; each of the
missions gathered a group of converts, which in the
1880’s became fiercely antagonistic toward one
another leading to the religious wars previously
mentioned.
Samuel Baker visited Bunyoro in 1864, also in
search of the headwaters of the Nile and later on in
1872, using the help of Khedive Ismail, with a view
to ending slave trade in the kingdom
Agriculture and Trade
Technological advancements were fostered mainly
by the need for more food production, increase in
trade and better communication.
The Buganda capital visited by Stanley in 1875 was a
thriving regional centre: it attracted foreign
diplomatic missions from as far away as Unyamwezi.
The attraction of the royal capital to foreign visitors
itself led to further urbanization.
Traders, missionaries and travelers visiting Buganda
rarely had sufficient land to grow enough crops to
feed themselves or their large entourages of porters
and guards.
They relied in part on the exchange of gifts with the
Kabaka, but increasingly they were able to buy food
with the trade foods- for example, cowries and
cloth- which they brought with them.
The growing moneterisation of commerce and its
escalating demand for imported goods (e.g. iron
axes, knives, hoes of coastal or European
manufacture were brought in the 1870’s and 1880’s
by coastal merchants) favoured the expansion of
the capital as a market for local foodstuffs.
Not surprisingly therefore, missionary sources
report that several markets opened in the capital
during this period
The introduction of the Imperial British East African
Company (IBEAC) in the 1890’s led to the eastern trade
route being fully developed.
British law and order had to be enforced to promote
commerce and bring an end to the religious wars in
Buganda.
This was done by a mixture of force and negotiation
leading to the establishment of the IBEAC in 1888 as the
representative of British presence in the region, its
mandate being a royal charter granted to the Company. A
treaty was signed by the IBEAC head in Buganda,
F.Lugard, and Mwanga in December 1890.
With the introduction of the IBEAC, the international
market opened up to Uganda and economic activities
gradually became driven towards making profit.
In 1896, agriculture changed from subsistence to
commercial.
 Indigenous labour worked the plantations but in
spite of commercialisation, the patron-client
relations still remained a feature of the production
system.
Two prime ministers and the Kabaka introduced
plantations producing coffee, rice and wheat as cash
crops.
On the downside, the British did not only conceive of
Buganda as a “feudal” society but they were also
interested in establishing a “landed aristocracy” as a
counter weight to the Kabaka who was most likely to
focus on resistance to their imposition
The produce from the indigenous plantations were mainly
supposed to act as raw materials for British industries.
Uganda at that time was obliged to export to Britain yet
the British were under no such obligation and so operated
in rational economic choices thereby buying from the
cheapest producer/seller.
There was a great imbalance in trade and Uganda was
disadvantaged.
Additionally, land containing minerals belonged to the
British and so most Ugandans relied on peasant
agriculture for economic gain.
From their agricultural proceeds, the Ugandan producers
bought imported consumer goods e.g. cloth, lamps and
pipes.
New advanced methods of agriculture were brought about by
colonialists which included; intercropping, mulching and
crop rotation to maintain fertility of the soil.
Application of artificial fertilizers was also done to increase
fertility.
Private firms who were major stakeholders in trade bought
and collected agricultural products from Ugandan farmers.
An outstanding person in the agricultural sector is Mr. K
Borup who introduced cotton plantations.
This trade thrived in the late 1880’s when raw cotton prices
were steadily rising in the U.S, England and on the
continent.
The “cotton scare” in the U.K boosted this trade and led to
the formation of the British cotton growing association in
1902.
It wasn’t all smooth for the agricultural sector. It underwent
hard times during the peak period of slave trade in around
1881.
Strong human labour was carried away leaving a weak less
productive labour force.
Famines were, however, overcome by improved farming
methods for a variety of foods.
Communal family granaries were built to guard against
shortage of food during the dry season.
Both domestically and internationally slave trade was a
dominant feature of the economic life from 1850 onwards.
From 1889-1890, slavery and slave trade thrived alongside
ivory trade. This led to the development of small towns
(bomas) to aid coastal trade. Guns were traded for ivory and
slaves.
The guns were used to shoot elephants and protect
traders’ lives and merchandise.
Attitudes towards this trade became negative with
time and significant efforts were made by the British
to abolish the slave trade in a number of kingdoms.
In 1893, the Kabaka signed a treaty with the British
abolishing slave trade and importation of guns.
The Union-Jack, trading company replaced the
Imperial British East African Company in the same
year. With the abolition of the slave trade, the
agricultural sector flourished once again owing to
healthy base of manpower.
Iron was mined in the Elgon region in Ketosh.
 It was preferred to ordinary wire due to its
properties e.g. malleability and ease to work with.
 Smelting furnaces produced; brass wire, red
beads, hoes, axes etc.
 Other trade goods included; pottery, baskets,
bowls from wood etc.
Taxes were introduced and the currency of trade
was changed from salt to cowry shells and later to
Indian rupees.
A sawmill bought by Mwanga Christian Missionary
Society was blocked for fear of hidden agenda.
Education
Before western education, skills and information
were passed on to people orally rather than written.
This was the duty of parents and elders to the young
ones, for example, herbalists, craftsmen,
blacksmiths etc. passed on their skills.
This was the informal kind of education.
People were taught basic skills which promoted
growth of personal talent and serving the
community.
Girls were generally prepared to do domestic work
while boys were hunters, blacksmiths etc.
However, when missionaries came, by 1880 they
advocated for formal education and the traditional
teachers were replaced by missionaries or African
converts indoctrinated in church.
Alexander Mackay of the Church Missionary
Society started a small technical workshop in
Mengo in 1879.
 The first schools were opened up in 1895.
These were later modified into primary and
secondary schools e.g. Namilyango in 1902, Buddo
and Gayaza in 1905.
Pupils were taught basic skills of carpentry, iron working,
brick working, agriculture, smithing, sewing, cotton
spinning etc. In addition, they learnt how to read and
write.
Teacher training schools known as normal schools were
set up. In 1898, Namirembe Theoretical Hall was
founded by Walker of the Church Missionary Society to
train protestant teachers. The White Fathers established
a normal school at Bitaka while the Mill Hill Mission
built one at Nazigo in Bugerere.
It was in this period that the foundation for existing
education was laid. Other schools opened up e.g.
Mbarara High School, Kisubi, and Makerere College etc.
Most of these schools were single sex and religious based.
Some Luganda books were published to initiate
education. “Eddini Ya Kabaka” published in 1898 and
“Katekisimu Kitabu Kyabasoka” published in 1896 by
Neuville- sous-Montreal.
These books helped missionaries and foreigners to do
their work properly.
In 1885 Alexander Mackay assembled a printing press. In
1887, he produced the first reading sheets.
In 1890, the first Ugandan students went overseas. 14
young Baganda were chosen by Bishop Livinhac, Vicar
Apostolic.
They were received by the Pope Leo XIII in Rome.
The missionaries also started catechist schools, village
schools and vernacular schools.
Industry
There was the cottage industry where many products
were made e.g. baby garments, men and women
pullovers and hand bags, mats, brushes etc.
Women dominated this industry because it mainly dealt
with knitting.
The arms industry also evolved since fire had been
discovered.
The industry dealt with smelting, producing spears and
arrows, hoes, pangas etc.
 During this period, Europeans introduced their own
iron goods and African smiths could use cheap imported
metal scrap.
Masks were produced as a tool for entertainment.
In the lake regions of Uganda, beer was made from
bananas while in the drier areas to the north, it was
made from sorghum.
The breweries only produced ram and gin for local
consumption.
Bark cloth was made domestically and was mainly
used for clothing, beddings, wall hangings, sacks
etc. Barkcloth later fell into disuse as imported
cloth became more widely available.
 It’s main function remained cultural- it was used
in traditional ceremonies and such.
Leather was introduced by Europeans and other
outsiders. The indigenous people had their own
knowledge about leather making.
The main products from leather were; shoes, baby
carriers, sandals etc. these were made from hides and
skins.
In 1890, Alexander Mackay, a Scottish engineer,
builder, printer, physician, and surgeon instructed
Africans in the rudiments of woodcraft and
engineering.
As a result, there was improvement in handcrafting
skills such as carpentry, iron working and copper
smelting.
Lugard reported in 1892 that there was a Muganda
fundi, called Kisuule, who learnt superior skills as a
blacksmith and gunsmith from Mackay.
Kisuule was able to make a new spring or repair a
damaged rifle with admirable workmanship.
All in all, for this period, Uganda had not
undergone industrialisation, as all the industries
were quite elementary
Construction
This was the major development in the period
1850 – 1900 carried out by mainly the colonialists
and missionaries.
In 1872, Fort Patiko in Gulu was built under the
supervision of Sir Samuel Baker. The perimeter
trench of the port can still be seen. In December
1890 Fort Lugard was built at Kampala.
The construction was of the Railway, which
commenced in 1891 was a great technological
advancement in the Uganda.
As Europeans realised that slave trade contradicted
what they preached, the railway line was built as a
means of stopping slave trade.
 It also enhanced trade because transportation of
goods was made easier hence the growth of local
and regional trade.
Commodities transported included salt, iron, hoes,
cattle, grain, dried fish, copper, tobacco, bananas,
domestic slaves, coffee, pottery etc.
Between 1886 and 1889, the Kabakas’ lake, a man-made
lake was constructed on orders by Kabaka Mwanga.
It was to aid the Kabakas transportation from Buddo to
his palace. Boats and Canoes were built.

Most of the houses used by locals were grass thatched

with walls made of mud and wattle and the floors were
furnished with cow dung. In 1894, the Kasubi tombs
were constructed when Muteesa I died.
These tombs display a unique kind of architecture which
still stands up to today.
In the same year Colonel Colville, established Katasiha
Fort and put a ditch around it.
Later on, under the supervision of M. K. Borup,
the first brick building was raised and
consecrated by Bishop Tucker on 21st June 1904.
As mentioned previously, in Kingdoms self-help
roads (known as ‘O’bulungi bwansi’ in Buganda
meaning for the good of the kingdom) were
constructed.
Transport
In this period, slaves grouped into caravans were the
main method used to transport goods.
 The slaves were acquired from kingdoms especially
from Buganda and walked long distances carrying
heavy goods to as far the East African coast.
Following the abolition of the slave trade and the
construction of the Uganda railway, ox-drawn carts
replaced the caravan porters in the late 1890s.
Dhows were developed of planked boat.
They were built with planks edge to edge.
These were introduced by Arabs in about 1880 and
moved between Lango and Buganda. eries.
On small rivers and swamps, people still continued
using rafts made out of woven papyrus reeds specifically
for crossing and fishing.
Bridges across rivers and streams were constructed
using logs.
The first steamer ship to move on Lake Victoria was
assembled in 1886 and it was named William
Mackinnon.
The first mechanically propelled boat on Lake Victoria
was the little steam launch called Daisy.
It was brought from England by Shergold Smith in 1877.
Cars were later imported to support oxen and ox-drawn
carts in transporting cotton to ginn
Medicine
 The indigenous people had their own sources of
medicine before the coming of Arabs and
Missionaries. Some of these sources included;
 Local herbs from leaves, stems and roots of trees
 The flesh of some animals like the crocodile was
believed to provide long lasting immunity.
 They depended on spirits to heal and show them
the right medicines in case of epidemics etc.
Preparation of the medicine involved the following
general steps;
 The leaves, stems or barks of trees were crushed and
sun dried. The powder would be mixed with water and
sometimes boiled before administering to the patient.
 The hot steam from the boiling medicine could be used
to cure certain diseases like malaria and flue.
 Sometimes the powder was mixed with clay, rolled and
sun dried. This was referred to as “mumbwa” in
Buganda.
 For animals, marijuana was used to treat coccidiosis in
hens.
 Isolation was used in case of contagious diseases like
measles, mumps and cough.
However, due to lack of professionalism, diseases
were not diagnosed and treatment was based on
assumptions and past experience.
During this period, Arabs began bringing in
ointments.
The first doctor in Uganda was Emin Pasha who
arrived in August 1876.
He mainly practiced medicine among members of
his entourage and occasionally among Africans. He
noted the abundance of fleas in Uganda and that
hunch backs were common in Bunyoro. However,
after his appointment as Governor of the Equatorial
Province, he had little time to practice medicine.
The establishment of Mengo Hospital in 1877
marked the beginning of the study of diseases and
their possible treatment.
The second European doctor to visit Uganda was a
young English missionary, Robert. W Felkin, who
on his arrival was summoned to treat Kabaka
Mutesa.
Mutesa took the medicine only after some of his
chiefs, Mackay and Felkin consumed a dose.
Felkin’s findings in Uganda
Venereal diseases were common in all varieties, the
Africans suffering from gonorrhea complained of
snakes in their insides.
He saw many marked cases of syphillis.
Among the epidemics, he identified small pox
which was responsible for a high mortality rate.
He noted that cholera had visited Uganda on
several occasions although dysentery was
uncommon.
Pulmonary tuberculosis was not common but
Felkin had seen some cases.
Africans treated this disease by curbing using a
cow’s horns but nonetheless they recognised that it
was incurable.
Epilepsy was a common disease especially among
girls.
 Malaria was also very common and was associated
with movement of population, e.g. during wars.
Another common disease was respiratory
infections. Skin diseases and Ophthalmic were
rare.
He was particularly interested in the management
of child birth by the various tribes he met.
Among the Banyoro, Felkin noted that their huts
and clothes were infested with a variety of vermin
for which they found it necessary to fumigate their
clothes in the smoke of burning papyrus every few
days.
The population was also threatened by diarrhoea.
 He tackled the effects of climate on the health of
the Europeans in the tropics.
He noted that diseases were basically due to poor
sanitation as opposed to climate.
Later on, Dr. Wright came to Uganda and treated
coughs, colds, bronchitis, pneumonia, whooping
cough, haemoptysis, syphilis and kidney diseases.
 In 1892, there was an outbreak of sleeping
sickness.
This marked the beginning of the study of local
diseases in Uganda as it attracted distinguished
investigators
Energy
Energy is very critical for the technological
development in any society. Between 1850 and 1900,
people in Uganda, largely depended on firewood and
biogas got from decomposing agricultural products
such as coffee husks, cotton stems etc. to meet their
energy demands.
The Arabs are credited for the introduction of paraffin,
candles and candle wax but this was in short supply.
Firewood was a common form of energy used for
cooking purposes and to warm families especially
during the night when tradition and information was
being passed on from elders to the young ones.
Women and children were the primary collectors
of firewood and biogas.
The indigenous people had also discovered that
reeds when lit provided good torches in the night
and were used to get honey from beehives in the
harvesting seasons and hunt for animals etc.
Fire aided development in crafts such as making
fired clay pots and bowls which were used to store
agricultural products.
Blacksmiths also used fire fanned by bellows to
make iron hoes, spears, pangas, arrowheads etc.
used to till the ground and other activities.
Extraction of oil from shear nut butter seeds was
also done using energy from firewood, fuel or
biogas was an important development that
enhanced trade since it could stand for long until
market was accessed.
Other agricultural processes that needed an
energy/ fuel input included the curing of tobacco
on large scale which was also aided.
Other petroleum products like petrol and diesel
were in short supply.
 They were used in the transport sector to provide
energy for locomotives introduced in 1886 by
William Mackinnon.
Firewood fuel remained in use as a form of
communication among the local communities e.g.
a fire lit in ones compound usually meant the loss
of a family member.
 However, in an attempt to produce more energy,
trees were cut down which affected the
environment hence affecting climate.
Bush burning to clear the land for agricultural
purposes greatly polluted the air and led to loss of
vegetation.
5.7 Epilogue
Generally, Science and Technology are ever developing. Men
make progress because they work together. Individuals
invent things, but it is the community that uses them
otherwise the inventions die.
An exploration of the past reveals that the local Uganda
communities had a vibrant history of innovation.
It can also be seen from the history of Uganda above that as
different communities interacted through trade, and most
importantly in order to meet their various needs, technology
transfer occurred from one society to another. As the people
absorbed and assimilated these technologies, they became
part of their daily lives and eased their work burdens.
In other cases, the technological transfer resulted in better
quality production.
There were of course some negative effects in certain
instances, such as deforestation, but as a whole, the
communities developed towards better standards of living,
health and sanitation.
That said, it is important that techonological transfers be
mitigated in order to ensure that it is sustainable so that
adverse effects are prevented.
While the people of these time periods lacked the
knowledge on how to manage their environment in a
sustainable manner, the same cannot be said today and a
greater awareness is required of every human individual.
Taking all this into account, one can rightly conclude that
it is the sharing of ideas that has greatly supported the
growth of Science and Technology not only in Uganda but
the world over.
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