Buganda

Buganda, former kingdom on the western shore of Lake Victoria, in what is now southern Uganda. Founded in the 16th century as a tributary state of the kingdom of Bunyoro, Buganda had a mixed Bantu, Hima, and Luo population and was ruled by a monarch called the kabaka. By the early 19th century, it had replaced Bunyoro as the dominant power in the region. With the admission of Christian missionaries under Kabaka Mutesa I (reigned 1856-1884), the country began to fall under European influence, and in 1894 it was made a British protectorate. In 1962 Buganda became part of the independent federation of Uganda, and Kabaka Sir Edward Mutesa II was president of the federation from 1963 to 1966. After his removal, the kingdom of Buganda was abolished (1967).