ABSTRACT
Uganda's history has been determined largely by the divisions among its people. Linguistically, the country is divided between the Nilotic-speaking northerners and the Bantu-speaking southerners. The two most significant epochs in Uganda's pro-independence history are the precolonial and colonial periods. Between the declaration of the protectorate and the outbreak of World War I, Great Britain consolidated its control over the Ugandan territories that had been in the Imperial British East Africa Company (IBEAC) domain. British colonial rule started in Buganda and then gradually spread to the rest of the country. During this process, Ugandans had to decide whether to collaborate with the British or resist the imposition of foreign rule. The British conquest of Uganda was a slow process. Although Uganda escaped the ravages of World War I, the conflict transformed country's military establishment. After World War II, Uganda experienced considerable economic growth. Cotton and coffee continued to dominate the protectorate's exports though coffee replaced cotton as Uganda's leading export.
