Uganda

The nation today known as the Republic of Uganda was originally inhabited by hunter-gatherer tribes, and later by Bantu-speaking tribes migrating from central and western Africa. In the 16th century the Bunyoro kingdom rose to prominence, and was later succeeded by the Buganda kingdom. Arab traders first reached present day Uganda via the Indian Ocean in the 1830s, followed shortly thereafter by British explorers seeking the source of the Nile river. In 1888 most of the country was placed under a charter by the British East Africa Company, after which it was made a British protectorate in 1894.

Uganda achieved independence from Britain in 1962, but remained a member of the British Commonwealth. Traditional kingdoms were abolished in 1967 and the nation was declared a republic. In 1971, president Milton Obote was deposed by Army General Idi Amin in a coup d'etat, after which he declared himself president. Suspending the constitution and setting up military tribunals in place of civil law, Amin created a military government that used violence, torture, intimidation and outright murder to persecute political rivals, intellectuals, professionals, and foreign nationals, often for no reasons whatsoever. Between 80,000 and 300,000 people were killed during his eight-year reign, and as many as 80,000 foreign nationals were expelled from the country. In 1978, Amin attempted to annex the Kagera province of Tanzania, leading to war between the two countries. Although supported by Libya and even some members of the PLO, Ugandan forces were defeated by a coalition of the Tanzanian Defence Forces and a paramilitary force of exiled Ugandans called the Uganda National Liberation Front (UNLF).