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Chapter 5 THE EAST AFRICAN INTERIOR FROM THE MID-SEVENTEENTH TO MID-NINETEENTH CENTURY
- West Virginia University Press
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Chapter 5 The period stretching from the middle of the seventeenth to the middle of the nineteenth century was a time of continued movement and interaction among East Africa’s peoples. These years witnessed some substantial movements of peoples within the region and from outside. By the end of the period the ethnic and linguistic groups of East Africa had largely assumed the form they have in the present century. In addition, these years witnessed a development of political centralization in areas outside western Uganda, most notably in eastern and central Tanzania. There such political developments typically were the result of changes in economic structure which led to growth in surplus production and trade. However, it would be wrong to assume that the growth of chieftaincies and states was a phenomenon experienced by all peoples of the interior; in fact, diversity characterized the economic and political formations of East Africa. Uganda Between 1650 and 1850 an important characteristic of the territory that would become Uganda was the diversity that developed between north and south. In some considerable measure, this was the result of the different ecological regions noted in Chapter 4. The north provided a more The East African Interior from 1650 to 1850 82 | CHAPTER FIVE difficult environment; droughts were common and population was normally not densely concentrated. Cultivation of cereals utilizing shifting patterns of land use within a communal mode of production centered on the household, combined with stock raising was typical of the Acholi and Langi, while pastoralism was practiced by the Karamojong. The small division of labor that existed in such societies was gender-based with mutual assistance between households fairly common. There was little surplus production other than for local exchange. Until the eighteenth century most northern societies were characterized by small-scale political formations without kings. After that time, however, most Acholi and Langi societies experienced growth of centralized political organization, which was distinguished by increasing emphasis on territorial (as opposed to ethnically based) formations, the growth in power of hereditary chiefs or kings, and the organization of war bands, especially among the Langi. At the same time, the important and extremely complex social transformation of much of northern Uganda, begun prior to 1650, was continuing. Lwoo-speaking communities would predominate by the middle of the nineteenth century. In the south of Uganda, Bantu-speaking peoples predominated. Better watered and more fertile than the north, the southern portion was more heavily populated. Here surplus production of agricultural produce (both grain and bananas) was possible on a larger scale. Such surpluses were— at least before the end of the nineteenth century—for consumption rather than profit. Trade links existed, such as those joining the Hima and the Iru, but these were more complementary than competitive. While distinctions based upon wealth and political influence had emerged in the southern kingdoms by the middle of the nineteenth century, it would be incorrect to see in this a developing capitalism. The surplus production of the south, still largely the result of household and communal labor methods , was not directed toward the world market. Those who benefited from it were the monarchs and chiefs of the southern kingdoms who claimed such produce as tribute. The centralized states of the south thus continued to exist after 1650; the kingdoms themselves, however, underwent dramatic changes. Buganda now emerged as the most powerful state in the region, supplanting Bunyoro-Kitara. As the political, economic, and military power of Buganda [44.205.3.18] Project MUSE (2024-03-29 09:09 GMT) the east african interior from 1650 to 1850 | 83 expanded, so did the territory she controlled, and the political system of the kingdom was altered. A centralization of power within Buganda made the position of the kabaka virtually all powerful by the middle of the nineteenth century. Bunyoro-Kitara For some time after the accession of the Bito rulers, Bunyoro, as the kingdom was now known, remained the largest and most powerful state in the interlacustrine region. In a series of conflicts Bunyoro rulers beat back attempts of Buganda to expand at its expense. Bito rulers waged successful wars of expansion to the north and west and also south into Nkore. The borders of the empire were expanded and a great number of cattle were captured. Bunyoro power began to shrink at the beginning of the eighteenth century and that of Buganda began to increase. Two events in the eighteenth century may be cited as examples of this power shift. Around...