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History of Uganda in maps

Uganda as it appears in 7 interactive history atlases, from 1890 to 2015: Uganda. Each era below lists who ruled the land and when control changed, linked to the dated map that shows it.

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Map of Kenya in 1895, showing Uganda
MAP OF KENYA IN 1895

What was Uganda before it was Uganda? Below, every era of this land in the Maps of History atlases — who ruled it, what it was called, and when control changed — each line linked to the dated map that shows it. Modern borders stand in as an honest approximation; every atlas says so on the map itself.

Uganda · Industrial Revolution

Colony or dependency — the opening position
Colony or dependency

INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION: EVERY CHAPTER AND MAP →

Uganda · Haiti and Kenya independence

The Uganda Protectorate, declared in 1894, was the prize the railway was built to reach. Britain ruled largely through the kingdom of Buganda and its chiefs, and Uganda never became a settler colony like its neighbour. Its eastern province was transferred to Kenya in 1902, and it became independent on 9 October 1962 under Milton Obote; the Kabaka of Buganda became its president in 1963.

Other states and societies — the opening position
Under colonial rule
Other states and societies

HAITI AND KENYA INDEPENDENCE: EVERY CHAPTER AND MAP →

Uganda · WWI

Entente-aligned & imperial territories — the opening position

WWI: EVERY CHAPTER AND MAP →

Uganda · Road to WW2

Colonial empires & possessions — the opening position

ROAD TO WW2: EVERY CHAPTER AND MAP →

Uganda · Cold War

NATO & core Western allies — the opening position
Non-aligned & neutral

COLD WAR: EVERY CHAPTER AND MAP →

Uganda · Decolonization of Africa

Uganda became independent from Britain in 1962, a patchwork of kingdoms and peoples the colonial border had bundled together. Its post-independence descent — Obote, then Idi Amin’s murderous 1971–79 dictatorship, ended only by a Tanzanian invasion — made it an emblem of the coup era at its worst. The artificial-state problem, and the strongman it so often produced.

British-ruled — the opening position
Independent Africa

DECOLONIZATION OF AFRICA: EVERY CHAPTER AND MAP →

Uganda · Feminism and the Tunisian Revolution

Authoritarian, one-party or colonial rule — the opening position
No reform yet / outside this story
Right won in law

FEMINISM AND THE TUNISIAN REVOLUTION: EVERY CHAPTER AND MAP →

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