Mwanga II
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Mwanga II of Buganda (full name Danieri Basammula-Ekkere Mwanga II Mukasa; 1868 - 8 May 1903) was an African monarch who served as 31st and 34th monarch of Buganda, a Bantu kingdom located in Uganda. He is most notable for being the final independent monarch of Buganda before it was conquered by the British Empire, and for his unsuccessful campaign to eradicate Christianity.
Biography edit
Mwanga was born in Nakawa in 1868, one of the 98 children of Muteesa I of Buganda. He took the throne at age 16 after his father's death in 1884, establishing his capital on Mengu Hill.
Mwanga's reign saw an influx of Christian missionaries from the British Empire, which Mwanga regarded as a potential threat to his reign as it encouraged rejection of his supreme authority. Wishing to weaken the Christian faith, Mwanga expelled all Christian missionaries from Buganda. When Anglican missionary James Hannington attempted to enter Buganda, Mwanga, wanting to send a message to European missionaries, had him and his porters thrown in prison. On 29 October 1885, Mwanga ordered their deaths. Hannington was forced to watch as his porters were executed before being killed via a spear to the side.
Mwanga's major-domo Joseph Mukasa Balikuddembe, himself a Christian convert, protested Mwanga's actions. He also condemned Mwanga's homosexual practices, specifically his keeping of young boys as sex slaves in his harem, taking action to help them escape the harem and converting them to Christianity. Outraged at this undermining of his authority, Mwanga ordered Balikuddembe's execution, replacing him with Charles Lwanga. He then in 1886 initiated a full purge of Christianity, decreeing that all Christians in Buganda convert or else they would be killed. 45 Christians, collectively known as the Uganda Martyrs, were burned alive on Mwanga's orders during this purge, many of whom were harem boys who had resisted his advances after converting. Victims also included Charles Lwanga, who like Joseph Balikuddembe had converted to Catholicism and opposed Mwanga's purge. Many others were enslaved and sold to Arab slave traders.
After the purge began, the British Empire heard of Mwanga's actions and was alarmed. Prime Minister Robert Gascoyne-Cecil backed a rebellion against Mwanga's rule by Christian forces in 1888, removing him from power and replacing him with his brother Kiweewa. However, Kiweewa was soon deposed and murdered by the Muslim forces of another brother, Kalema, who also persecuted Christians and resisted British rule. Seeing an opportunity, Mwanga negotiated with the British and agreed to end the persecution of Christians, convert to Christianity and cede control of Buganda to Britain if the British helped him to regain the throne. The British agreed, forced Kalema to abdicate and placed Mwanga on the throne. Mwanga then signed a treaty granting most of his powers to the British Crown.
Mwanga remained a British puppet king until 1897, when he declared war on the British. He was defeated and fled to Tanzania, where he was arrested by German colonial authorities. He soon escaped and returned to Buganda with a large army in 1898, but was again defeated. Captured by the British in 1899, he was forced into exile in the Seychelles, where he lived until his death in 1903.