The early history of Uganda comprises the history of Uganda before the territory that is today Uganda was made into a British protectorate at the end of the 19th century. Prior to this, the region was divided between several closely related kingdoms.
The history of Uganda from 1963 through 1971 comprises the history of Uganda from Ugandan independence from the United Kingdom to the rise of the dictator Idi Amin.
Kigeli V Ndahindurwa was the last ruling King (Mwami) of Rwanda, from 28 July 1959 until the end of the UN-mandate with Belgian administration and the declaration of an independent Republic of Rwanda 1 July 1962. On 25 September 1961, a referendum voted for the abolition of the Rwandan monarchy following the Rwandan Revolution.
Bunyoro, also called Bunyoro-Kitara, is a Bantu kingdom in Western Uganda. It was one of the most powerful kingdoms in Central and East Africa from the 13th century to the 19th century. It is ruled by the King (Omukama) of Bunyoro-Kitara. The current ruler is Solomon Iguru I, the 27th Omukama.
The Kingdom of Rwanda was a Bantu kingdom in the modern-day Republic of Rwanda, which grew to be ruled by a Tutsi monarchy. It was one of the oldest and the most centralized kingdoms in the Central and East Africa region. It was later annexed under German and Belgian colonial rule while retaining some of its autonomy. The Tutsi monarchy was abolished in 1961 after ethnic violence erupted between the Hutu and the Tutsi during the Rwandan Revolution which started in 1959. After a 1961 referendum, Rwanda became a Hutu-dominated republic and received its independence from Belgium in 1962.
Busoga is a kingdom and one of four constitutional monarchies in present-day Uganda. The kingdom is a cultural institution which promotes popular participation and unity among the people of the region through development programs to improve their standard of living.
Kigeli IV Rwabugiri was the king (mwami) of the Kingdom of Rwanda in the mid-nineteenth century. He was among the last Nyiginya kings in a ruling dynasty that had traced their lineage back four centuries to Gihanga, the first 'historical' king of Rwanda whose exploits are celebrated in oral chronicles. He was a Tutsi with the birth name Sezisoni Rwabugiri. He was the first king in Rwanda's history to come into contact with Europeans. He established an army equipped with guns he obtained from Germans and prohibited most foreigners, especially Arabs, from entering his kingdom.
The military history of Uganda begins with actions before the conquest of the country by the British Empire. After the British conquered the country, there were various actions, including in 1887, and independence was granted in 1962. After independence, Uganda was plagued with a series of conflicts, most rooted in the problems caused by colonialism. Like many African nations, Uganda endured a series of civil wars and coup d'états. Since the 2000s in particular, the Uganda People's Defence Force has been active in peacekeeping operations for the African Union and the United Nations.
The Buganda Crisis, also called the 1966 Mengo Crisis, the Kabaka Crisis, or the 1966 Crisis, domestically, was a period of political turmoil that occurred in Buganda. It was driven by conflict between Prime Minister Milton Obote and the Kabaka of Buganda, Mutesa II, culminating in a military assault upon the latter's residence that drove him into exile.
The history of Buganda is that of the Buganda kingdom of the Baganda people, the largest of the traditional kingdoms in present-day Uganda.
Nakibinge Kagali was Kabaka (King) of the Kingdom of Buganda, between 1524 and 1554 AD. He was the 8th Kabaka of Buganda.
Muteesa I Mukaabya Walugembe Kayiira was the 30th Kabaka of the Kingdom of Buganda, from 1856 until 1884.
The Rwandan Revolution, also known as the Hutu Revolution, Social Revolution, or Wind of Destruction, was a period of ethnic violence in Rwanda from 1959 to 1961 between the Hutu and the Tutsi, two of the three ethnic groups in Rwanda. The revolution saw the country transition from a Tutsi monarchy under Belgian colonial authority to an independent Hutu-dominated republic.
The Baganda also called Waganda, are a Bantu ethnic group native to Buganda, a subnational kingdom within Uganda. Traditionally composed of 52 clans, the Baganda are the largest people of the Bantu ethnic group in Uganda, comprising 16.5 percent of the population at the time of the 2014 census.
Wasswa Chwamale Mwanga Winyi was a reigning monarch of Bunyoro-Kitara during the period circa 1300 AD. His chief palace was located at Kibulala, Ssingo, where his remains are buried today. When Prince Kalemeera of Buganda, the only son of Ssekabaka Chwa Nabakka, was exiled to Bunyoro, he took refuge at the palace of his paternal uncle, Winyi I at his palace in Kibulala. There he committed more transgressions, fathering Prince Kimera Walusimbi with Lady Wannyana, his uncle's chief wife. Prince Kimera later became the third Kabaka of Buganda.
Kigeli II Nyamuheshera was a possible Mwami (King) of the Kingdom of Rwanda in the late 17th century. Jan Vansina proposed that he was fictional, and added to the royal genealogy later to complete a cycle of dynastic names.
Kigeli III Ndabarasa was a warrior Mwami of the Kingdom of Rwanda during the eighteenth century. The son of Cyilima II Rujugira, he was raised to be co-ruler by his father before attaining the throne on his death in 1765 or 1786. His reign was marked by military campaigns that expanded Rwandan territory and control. He brought the people of Ndorwa into the kingdom and conquered the small kingdom of Muabli. He expanded the large number of armies he had inherited from his father and founded new armies in Ndorwa and Burundi. He increased support for his military force by creating four new herds of cattle for his army, as well as ten for cattle-herders, and expanded the number of domains for cattle herding into new territories. At the same time, the observance of the practice of veneration for ancestors decreased during his reign. He died due to complications from an operation and was succeeded by his son Sentabyo.
The Bugesera invasion, also known as the Bloody Christmas, was a military attack which was conducted against Rwanda by Inyenzi rebels who aimed to overthrow the government in December 1963. The Inyenzi were a collection of ethnically Tutsi exiles who were affiliated with the Rwandan political party Union Nationale Rwandaise (UNAR), which had supported Rwanda's deposed Tutsi monarchy. The Inyenzi opposed Rwanda's transformation upon independence from Belgium into a state run by the ethnic Hutu majority through the Parti du Mouvement de l'Emancipation Hutu (PARMEHUTU), an anti-Tutsi political party led by President Grégoire Kayibanda. In late 1963, Inyenzi leaders decided to launch an invasion of Rwanda from their bases in neighbouring countries to overthrow Kayibanda. While an attempted assault in November was stopped by the government of Burundi, early in the morning on 21 December 1963, several hundred Inyenzi crossed the Burundian border and captured the Rwandan military in camp in Gako, Bugesera. Bolstered with seized arms and recruited locals, the Iyenzi—numbering between 1,000 and 7,000—marched on the Rwandan capital, Kigali. They were stopped 12 miles south of the city at Kanzenze Bridge along the Nyabarongo River by multiple units of the Garde Nationale Rwandaise (GNR). The GNR routed the rebels with their superior firepower, and in subsequent days repelled further Inyenzi attacks launched from the Republic of the Congo and Uganda.
Mibambwe I Sekarongoro I Mutabazi was, according to tradition, Mwami of the Kingdom of Rwanda who was supposed to have ruled in the fifteenth century. He was able to expand the borders of the Kingdom of Rwanda, due in part to his heroic actions when fighting. In one instance during his youth, he suffered from crucial injuries which he had incurred when fighting at the frontlines. Such actions inspired the proverb "Keep your food, if you don't know the story at Fumbwe." One of the most important decisions he made as Mwami was concerning the Bunyoro and Bunyabungo communities. Because of previous battles with the Bunyoro, he opted to wage war against them. At the same time, he sought peace with the Bunyabungo community, who had organized peace offerings with Rwanda at a previous time.
