| 251 |
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1800 CE 1894 CE |
2000000
|
2500000
|
People. "In 1879, on the eve of the British conquest of Uganda, the population of Bunyoro-Kitara was estimated to be 2,500,000 (Felkin, 1971: 47). Frederick Lugard accepted this figure in 1892. Lugard, who had no love for Bunyoro-Kitara, was nonetheless convinced that Banyoro outnumbered Baganda (Lugard, 1892: 432). The official Guide Book for East Africa published in 1893 also accepted the 1879 estimate (Langlands, 1971: 48). And JW Gregory also estimated that the kingdom’s population was reduced fourfold as a result of the devastation it suffered during the 19th century (Langlands, 1971: 48; Low, 2009: 335). It is, of course, difficult to say how reliable these figures are. All that we can conclude from available evidence is that the population of Bunyoro-Kitara had much diminished by the close of the 19th century. Today, Bunyoro-Kitara is one of the smallest administrate districts of Uganda. The provisional results of the 1969 census – that is, a century later – put the population at only 348,000 (Langlands, 1971: 48). Assuming that the 1879 figure included Tooro, the calculation may not be as wide of the mark as it seems at first blush." [Uzoigwe 2012, p. 30] |
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