MC_A Concise History of Africa

Inland Africa

BELOW: Long-horned Ankole Watusi cattle in Rwanda. OPPOSITE: The Nairobi to Mombasa train on the historic Uganda “Lunatic” railway line in Tsavo National Park, Kenya.

and also benefited from its control of some of the holiest shrines in the region, with more of its wealth

The Omugabe of Ankole ruled over a complex status-conscious society, the cattle-owning elite being at the top of the pile. The Kingdom of Toro, an offshoot of the Ankole, was developed in about 1880 by a breakaway group. Buganda differed from Bunyoro and Ankole in keeping fewer cattle but also growing crops. A vassal state of Bunyoro, Buganda came to the fore in the 18th and 19th centuries, making forays over a wide area in its search for cattle, ivory, and slaves, and trading with the coastal Muslims from about 1840. By this means Bunyoro was able to acquire

coming from salt production, metalworking, and control of lucrative trade routes.

Ankole Watusi Cattle The Ankole were a Cwezi people, notable for developing the Ankole Watusi breed of cattle. The breed is instantly recognizable due to its massive horns. Being a local breed, the cattle are well-adapted to thrive on impoverished grassland with little available water.

firearms, enabling it to challenge Buganda, but with little success.

Buganda became the centerpiece

of the Protectorate of Uganda, allowing it to benefit from its useful alliance with the British. By the time of Ugandan independence in 1962, the Bugandans had the highest standard of living and were the best

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