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OK, get ready for a tale of two kingdoms: Bunyoro and Buganda.

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Yes, those are actual places, not Caribbean dance moves. [Caribbean men dancing]

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They were both societies that emerged in the central African jungle in what is present

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day Uganda.

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Bunyoro and Buganda aren't as old as some of the other civilizations we've been talking [Bunyoro and Uganda bump into each other]

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about.

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They mostly came to power in the middle ages.

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But…that’s still pretty old, right?

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And the thing that makes these societies the most interesting is that they’re examples

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of isolated and… peculiarly African… development.

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These dudes weren't influenced by the Egyptians or the Middle East. [Tiger in a field and a city appears from under the ground]

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They rose up out of the jungle all by their lonesome.

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Bunyoro actually came to power first.

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What was the secret to its success?

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Salt.

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Yup…salt. [Person shakes a salt shaker]

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It’s a mineral that’s essential for all human and animal life, making it, uh… pretty

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darn valuable.

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So when Bunyoro figured out the process of culling salt from the soil around its lakes, [Man culling salt from a lake]

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it eventually figured out it was sitting on a gold mine.

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Well, a salt mine.

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Well, really a lot of salty dirt.

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Whatever…it was valuable.

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And trading it gave Bunyoro the kind of thriving economy needed to build a kingdom. [Bunyoro people working]

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Meanwhile, a rival was steadily growing in power on the shores of Lake Victoria.

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Buganda.

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It didn’t have salt, but it did have a knack for growing bananas, which provided the base

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for its growing economy.

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A country run on banana power. [Country overview with a banana attached to a generator]

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Now that idea has some a-peel.

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Buganda also had a ton of ambition.

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So it put a lot of that banana money toward maintaining a standing army and building a

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fleet of jumbo canoes.

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It used that army to take over new land and to dominate trade on Lake Victoria. [Buganda army firing bananas at army]

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By this point, it was getting pretty lucrative, since Arabic and Swahili traders had arrived [Arabic and Swahili traders fighting with bananas]

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looking for slaves and ivory.

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Oh, and they also brought a new invention called… the gun.

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So that was a biggie. [Buganda fires a gun]

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With its newfound wealth and firepower, Buganda started to totally dominate its salty rival

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Bunyoro, though the old school kingdom still managed to put up some resistance.

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However, Bunyoro’s downfall was sealed when Buganda made a deal with the British, who’d [Buganda negotiating with British soldiers]

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arrived first in the form of explorers and missionaries.

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Now in the form of soldiers, the British offered to back Buganda, as long as Buganda became

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a British Protectorate.

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Buganda signed up to be a part of the British empire in 1894, and it wasn’t until the

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1960’s that it regained its independence. [Timeline of Buganda]

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Back in the day, it seemed like a great opportunity, though.

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Together, the British and Bugandans attacked Bunyoro and killed three quarters of its population,

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basically annihilating the ancient kingdom. [Bunyoro appears and looks at the rubble]

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Talk about overkill.

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And that’s why the modern-day country is called Uganda instead of Unyoro or… something

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like that.

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Though today both Bunyoro and Buganda are recognized provinces within Uganda.

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So…would you call that a happy ending? [Ugandan crying]

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Tough call.

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