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African History Videos 63 videos

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African History 2: Bunyoro and Buganda 6 Views


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Description:

Today we're going to learn about how salt can build a city, and bananas can build an army. Seriously. Take a look.

Language:
English Language

Transcript

00:04

OK, get ready for a tale of two kingdoms: Bunyoro and Buganda.

00:08

Yes, those are actual places, not Caribbean dance moves. [Caribbean men dancing]

00:12

They were both societies that emerged in the central African jungle in what is present

00:17

day Uganda.

00:19

Bunyoro and Buganda aren't as old as some of the other civilizations we've been talking [Bunyoro and Uganda bump into each other]

00:23

about.

00:24

They mostly came to power in the middle ages.

00:26

But…that’s still pretty old, right?

00:28

And the thing that makes these societies the most interesting is that they’re examples

00:32

of isolated and… peculiarly African… development.

00:36

These dudes weren't influenced by the Egyptians or the Middle East. [Tiger in a field and a city appears from under the ground]

00:39

They rose up out of the jungle all by their lonesome.

00:42

Bunyoro actually came to power first.

00:45

What was the secret to its success?

00:47

Salt.

00:48

Yup…salt. [Person shakes a salt shaker]

00:49

It’s a mineral that’s essential for all human and animal life, making it, uh… pretty

00:54

darn valuable.

00:55

So when Bunyoro figured out the process of culling salt from the soil around its lakes, [Man culling salt from a lake]

01:00

it eventually figured out it was sitting on a gold mine.

01:03

Well, a salt mine.

01:05

Well, really a lot of salty dirt.

01:07

Whatever…it was valuable.

01:09

And trading it gave Bunyoro the kind of thriving economy needed to build a kingdom. [Bunyoro people working]

01:13

Meanwhile, a rival was steadily growing in power on the shores of Lake Victoria.

01:18

Buganda.

01:19

It didn’t have salt, but it did have a knack for growing bananas, which provided the base

01:23

for its growing economy.

01:24

A country run on banana power. [Country overview with a banana attached to a generator]

01:27

Now that idea has some a-peel.

01:29

Buganda also had a ton of ambition.

01:31

So it put a lot of that banana money toward maintaining a standing army and building a

01:35

fleet of jumbo canoes.

01:37

It used that army to take over new land and to dominate trade on Lake Victoria. [Buganda army firing bananas at army]

01:41

By this point, it was getting pretty lucrative, since Arabic and Swahili traders had arrived [Arabic and Swahili traders fighting with bananas]

01:46

looking for slaves and ivory.

01:48

Oh, and they also brought a new invention called… the gun.

01:53

So that was a biggie. [Buganda fires a gun]

01:55

With its newfound wealth and firepower, Buganda started to totally dominate its salty rival

02:00

Bunyoro, though the old school kingdom still managed to put up some resistance.

02:04

However, Bunyoro’s downfall was sealed when Buganda made a deal with the British, who’d [Buganda negotiating with British soldiers]

02:09

arrived first in the form of explorers and missionaries.

02:12

Now in the form of soldiers, the British offered to back Buganda, as long as Buganda became

02:17

a British Protectorate.

02:19

Buganda signed up to be a part of the British empire in 1894, and it wasn’t until the

02:23

1960’s that it regained its independence. [Timeline of Buganda]

02:26

Back in the day, it seemed like a great opportunity, though.

02:28

Together, the British and Bugandans attacked Bunyoro and killed three quarters of its population,

02:34

basically annihilating the ancient kingdom. [Bunyoro appears and looks at the rubble]

02:35

Talk about overkill.

02:38

And that’s why the modern-day country is called Uganda instead of Unyoro or… something

02:43

like that.

02:44

Though today both Bunyoro and Buganda are recognized provinces within Uganda.

02:49

So…would you call that a happy ending? [Ugandan crying]

02:54

Tough call.

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