‘Uganda’ was the name used by the Arabs and the Swahili traders on the coast of East Africa to refer to the kingdom of Buganda deep in the interior of Africa. The Arab traders moved inland from the Indian Ocean coast of East Africa in the 1830s. In 1840s, these Arab traders arrived in Buganda; they traded firearms, cloth and other items for ivory and slaves. The British Explorers searching for the source of the Nile led by John Hanning Speak in 1862, and later followed by Stanley in 1875 visited the kingdom of Buganda and both met with Kabaka Mutesa 1 at that time. The Explorers were then followed by the British Anglican missionaries in 1877 and then followed by the French Catholic missionaries in 1879. The British government then extended their hegemony over Buganda Kingdom through a commercial company; The Imperial British East Africa Company IBEAC that was set up between 1888 -1895. The British government thereafter succeeded to annexing Buganda kingdom and adjoining territories. In 1892 the British East Africa Company agent Frederick Lugard extends the company’s control to southern Buganda and helps the Protestant missionaries defeat their Catholic counterparts who had been competing with them in Buganda. The Company also succeeded to adjoining the nearby territories to create a protectorate later on. In 1893, the British Union Jack was raised over the Kingdom of Buganda. The British then mistakenly drop the letter “B” from the name and call its newest addition to the British Empire “Uganda.” The British had used the Swahili term “Uganda” to refer to their new territory. The British mainly wanted to please the Kingdom of Buganda which had accepted them. On April 11th 1894, Uganda was declared a British Protectorate largely to protect the source of the Nile. Winston Churchill – who later became the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom two times from 1940-1945, when he led Britain to victory in the Second World War, and again from 1951 to 1955 – was a 33- year-old member of parliament in 1907 who had been appointed Parliamentary Under-Secretary for colonies; wanted to visit the British Protectorate of Uganda which was still unfamiliar Territory at that time resulting to Winston Churchill’s -1907 African Travels to Uganda. He was so impressed with his safari to Uganda that he wrote a book about it in 1908 which he called “My African Journey.” In his book, he reaffirms that “Uganda is from end to end a beautiful garden where staple food of the people grows almost without labor. Does it not sound like paradise on earth? It’s the pearl of Africa.” The town of Entebbe was the capital of the protectorate until 1962. Today the population of Uganda is approximately 37.8 million and made up of various ethnic groups. The largest ethnic group is Baganda making up 16.9%. The Banyankole are the second largest group making up 9.5% of the total population. The Basoga ethnic group makes up 8.4% of the total population to mention but a few. Uganda has a high degree of ethnic diversity. In fact, the country is one of the most ethnically diverse in the world. It is home to more than 40 indigenous ethnic groups, each of which has their own culture, language, and customs. Source: UgandaFind