The examination of the growth of canoe transport in Buganda in
the
nineteenth century is an aspect of the kingdom's history that has
received
little serious consideration to date. This paper focuses on the ways in
which
the canoe fleet, especially from the 1840s, was systematically developed
and
utilized in the extension of Ganda power and influence in the Lake Victoria
region. The need to protect and promote commerce was one of the driving
forces behind Buganda's diplomatic, military and technological policies
in
the second half of the nineteenth century. This was consistent with
objectives of the kingdom that had endured since around the middle of the
sixteenth century, although the scale of these objectives had expanded
along
with the kingdom's horizons. Yet recognition of this basic continuity
should
not detract from our appreciation of the degree to which the Ganda
innovated to meet the challenges of long-distance trade, as well as the
challenges to their control of the external environment. The presence of
Ganda at Tabora, on the southern shore of Lake Victoria, and even at
Zanzibar itself is indicative of the alacrity with which Kabaka
Suna (c.
1830–56) and Kabaka Mutesa (1856–84) seized their
opportunities and
attempted to secure conditions perceived to be favourable to the ‘national
interest’ far beyond territorial borders. Yet Ganda also failed to
realize the
full military potential of their canoes. Despite their considerable efforts,
the
success of the naval endeavour was never without qualifications, and it
is one
of the primary aims of this paper to analyze these deficiencies.
