EAST AFRICAN STUDIES DISTRIBUTION In East Africa EAST AFRICAN LITERATURE BUREAU P.O. BOX 2022, NAIROBI, KENYA Outside East Africa KEGAN PAUL TRENCH TRUBNER & CO. LTD. 43 GREAT RUSSELL STREET LONDON, W.C.I Book Number 001864 INSTITUTE OF DEVELOPMENT STUDIES LIBRARY Classifi- cation EAST AFRICAN STUDIES Already published No. 1. LAND TENURE IN BUGANDA, by A. B. Mukwaya. 2s. No. 2. THE INDIGENOUS POLITICAL SYSTEM OF THE SUKUMA, by H. Cory. 3s. 6d. No. 3. THE TRADE OF LAKE VICTORIA, A Geographical Study, by V. C. R. Ford. lis. Forthcoming Titles JINJA TRANSFORMED, by C. and R. Sofer. LABOUR MIGRATION IN SOUTHERN TANGANYIKA, by P. Gulliver. EAST AFRICAN LINGUISTIC STUDIES No. 1. AN INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY OF IRAQW, by W. H. Whiteley. 10s. 6d. OTHER PUBLICATIONS Already published ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND TRIBAL CHANGE, edited by A. I. Richards. 30s. Cambridge. Heffers. 1954. Forthcoming BWAMBA : A Structural-Functional Analysis of a Patrilineal Society, by E. H. Winter. Cambridge. Heffers. ALUR SOCIETY: A Study of Processes and Types of Domination, by A. W. Southall. Cambridge. Heffers. BANTU BUREAUCRACY : A Study of Conflict and Change in the Political Institutions of an East African People, by L. A. Fallers. Cambridge. Heffers. Orders for the whole series may be placed with the following :— East African Literature Bureau, P.O. Box $22, Nairobi, or Messrs. Kegan Paul Trench Trubner & Co., Ltd., 43 Gt. Russell St., W.C.I. 1 Fishing karua, Asembo Bay, Central Nyanza Kenya Colony. This small dhow is loaded with dried " ngege " and lung-fish brought from the Speke Gulf and Baumann Gulf. Note the lack of any accommodation for the crew and the typical galley, an old tin can filled with earth. The rouiHt wheel-shaped baskets containing the dried ngege are to be seen as well as the more shapeless bundles of dried lung-fish= THE TRADE OF LAKE VICTORIA A GEOGRAPHICAL STUDY BY Y. C. R. FORD, M.A. Lecturer in Geography in the Queen's University of Belfast (.Formerly Lecturer in Geography in the University College of East Africa) INSTITUTE OF DEVELOPMENT STUDIES LIBRARY ? EAST AFRICAN INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL RESEARCH„, •KAMPALA , UGANDA 1955 PREFACE HE marginal lands of Lake Victoria are some of the most densely populated and most highly productive in East Africa. The trade of these lands has played a major role in the economy of the two British dependencies, Kenya Colony and the Uganda Protectorate, and the British mandated territory of Tanganyika. In 1947 with the approaching establish- ment of an East African High Commission and the amalgamation of certain services common to East Africa, it seemed opportune for a survey of the trade of Lake Victoria to be made. This survey was completed in 1950 when it was presented as a thesis for the M.A. degree of the University of London. The original work has now been revised and abridged slightly. The work has been done chiefly in two ways. First, by study of the records kept in the headquarters in Nairobi of the Kenya and Uganda Rail- ways and Harbours section of the East African Railways and Harbours. In particular, use has been made of the Hollerith data for the years 1948 and 1952. These statistics record every movement of goods, however small, in- dicating in code the place of origin, the place of destination, the type of com- modity," its rate class and the amount of revenue earned. All weights are recorded in pounds and values in cents. Secondly, a protracted journey was made by boat, car and at times by foot, around the lake in the period January to March 1949. The opportunity was taken of seeing at first hand something of the regions from which the lake traffic is derived and of talking to govern- ment officers and of reading some of the great wealth of material which lies unpublished and buried in innumerable files in government offices. Use has also been made of material in the Colonial Office Library not easily accessible in East Africa. The Annual Reports of the Uganda Railway, later the Kenya and Uganda Railways, have been a source of much statistical information. The early reports give very detailed statistical information but changes in format have prevented complete records from being available throughout the period under review. In many cases the figures have been declared to be approxi- mate only, and frequent discrepancies have been encountered. Neverthe- less these approximate figures, as they were the only ones available in detail for each port, have had to be used for compiling the maps. At times data have been available from several sources, e.g. the railway, the customs and the agricultural departments. With no indication of their basis of compilation, these figures have frequently been greatly at variance and the choice has had to be made of the most likely set of figures as circum- stances dictated. The joint customs union of Kenya and Uganda did not publish its returns in a manner which allowed the trade of the two countries to be separated, and it was not possible to estimate on a customs basis the lake trade between Kenya and Uganda. Likewise the habit of the Tanganyika Customs posts of not differentiating between the Kenya and Uganda traffic, but of recording it jointly, defeated detailed analysis. The official Trade Reports of the three territories do not distinguish the traffic at individual ports, but consolidate ocean, lake and train returns under one head. The two dhow traffic maps have been drajyn from statistics obtained from the very detailed files which have been kept for over twenty years in the Nairobi headquarters of the railway. In the period 1933-1940 the dhow industry, although an organisation without official support, presented a serious challenge to the railway boats on Lake Victoria. The dhow traffic was essentially a phenomenon of the years between 1926 and 1940. This was a period when the littoral of Lake Victoria was developing and was also a period when rating differences between the two railway systems of East Africa made conditions favourable for the growth of a competitive form of transport. Although the dhow traffic forms a side chapter in the main history of the trade of the lake, the full story cannot be understood without an account of the brief period of the importance of the dhows. The very close documentation of the dhow trade is the result of its history and reflects the serious view then taken by the Kenya and Uganda Railways of this alter- native form of transport. It remains to acknowledge the help of all those who have made it possible to write and publish this work. I am greatly indebted both to the Research Grants Committee of Makerere College and to the East African Institute of Social Research for jointly sharing the cost of publication. To the Council of Makerere College I must express my gratitude for a term's leave of absence to enable the material to be presented to the University of London, and for generous help towards the cost of the fieldwork. My senior colleague, Professor S. J. K. Baker, M.A., who suggested the subject, has at all times given gladly and generously of his advice and time, and his criticism and above all his encouragement are very gratefully recorded. The final form of the maps is the result of the many hours of careful work by the draughtsman of the Geography Department of Makerere College, Mr. A. Serubiri, whose patience in interpreting my pencilled draughts should be placed on record. Grateful acknowledgements are made to George Philip and Son Ltd., for permission to reproduce the map of place names from the essay " The Trade of Lake Victoria and its Marginal Lands", published in their book Geogra- phical Essays on British Tropical Lands, and to draw heavily upon that essay for the content of the fourth chapter of this book. Much is owed to the help given by many officials of the East African Railways and Harbours, and for their permission to examine records stored in Nairobi, in particular Sir Reginald E. Robins, C.M.G., O.B.E., the former Member for Transport in the East African High Commission, J. H. Collier-Wright, Esq., M.A., and to the personnel of the Rating Section. The number of government officers whose time and good nature were trespassed upon is legion, but in particular the following should be mentioned : T. S. Jervis, Esq., N. V. Rounce, Esq., and the late W. Lynne-Watt, Esq., M.B.E., all of the Colonial Agricultural Service, the District Commissioners of Bukoba and Musoma and the Customs Officers at Bukoba, Mwanza, and Musoma. Finally, to my sister, Miss W. M. Ford, B.A., I would like to make acknowledgment for the very great help she has given in many hours of careful criticism and proof-reading. Belfast, V.C.R.F. June 1955. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page PREFACE .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. i LIST OF TABLES iv LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS .. .. .. .. .. .. .. iv LIST OF MAPS iv Chapter I. THE GEOGRAPHICAL SETTING OF LAKE VICTORIA .. .. 1 Size and Position Relief and Drainage of the Lake Plateau The Coastline and the Islands of Lake Victoria The Climates of the Lands Marginal to Lake Victoria The Vegetation Divisions of the Lake Basin Limits of the " Lake Victoria " Zone The Bukoba Region The Basin of the Middle and Lower Kagera River The Southern Buganda and Busoga Region The Nyanza Region The Musoma Region The Mwanza Region II. THE HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE TRADE OF LAKE VICTORIA 18 The Trade before the Advent of the Railway The Early Railway Period, 1902-1921 The Period of Railway Expansion, 1922-1931 The Phase of Recovery and Adjustment, 1932-1939 The War Period, 1939-1945 III.