1875–1894: (The Uganda Question — Stanley’s 1876 Letter Calling for Missionaries to Buganda, the CMS Arriving in 1877, Alexander Mackay’s Uncompromising Pres…

1875–1894: (The Uganda Question — Stanley’s 1876 Letter Calling for Missionaries to Buganda, the CMS Arriving in 1877, Alexander Mackay’s Uncompromising Presence, the White Fathers Arriving in 1879, Protestant and Catholic Missionaries Haranguing Each Other at the Royal Court, Mutesa Playing All Factions Off One Another, Mwanga’s Persecution of Converts, Bishop Hannington Murdered in 1885, Civil War in 1888, the IBEAC, and the 1894 Protectorate Declared as a Test Case for the Civilizing Mission): The kingdom of Buganda caught the popular imagination when in 1876 Stanley published a letter in the Daily Telegraph calling for missionaries. The CMS arrived in 1877, with Alexander Mackay among the earliest — eminently practical, uncompromising in his hatred of Catholicism and impervious to local sensitivities. When the French White Fathers arrived in 1879, Protestants and Catholics harangued one another at the royal court in front of the kabaka. Both enjoyed success in converting the Ganda elite, with many chiefs becoming Protestant, Catholic, or Muslim. Mutesa played all factions off one another — CMS, White Fathers, Muslim traders, and his own spirit mediums — giving enough encouragement to keep missionaries hopeful without committing himself. When Mutesa died in 1884, his son Mwanga launched a persecution of missionaries and converts. In 1885, Bishop Hannington was murdered after approaching Buganda from the east, providing the CMS with another martyr. The kingdom descended into civil war in 1888, with factions divided by allegiance to foreign faiths. Christian conscience and supposed commercial potential prompted the establishment of the Imperial British East Africa Company, and Buganda’s location at the headwaters of the Nile was a significant factor. In 1894, the Liberal government somewhat reluctantly declared a protectorate over Uganda — missionaries had acted as pioneers of imperial expansion, and the territory’s partial Christianization in advance of the takeover was critical to the process.