Britannica Student Encyclopedia - 2010

and tobacco. People grow sweet

potatoes, corn, peanuts, and beans for

food. Farmers also raise cattle, sheep,

goats, pigs, chickens, ducks, and turkeys.

Fishing is another important source of

food.

Industry is a small part of Uganda’s

economy. Many industries process farm

products, including coffee, tea, tobacco,

sugar, and cooking oils. Uganda also

produces beer, soft drinks, cement,

metal products, shoes, soap, and fabrics.

The country’s mines provide copper,

cobalt, gold, and other minerals.

History

Small groups of farmers and herders

moved into the Uganda region hundreds

of years ago.West of Lake Victoria, the

Bunyoro kingdom gained power at the

end of the 1400s. By the 1800s, however,

the Buganda kingdom had become

the largest power in the region.

Arab traders reached the area in the

1840s. The first European explorers

came to Buganda in 1862. Missionaries

soon followed and began to teach Christianity.

Great Britain took over Buganda

in the 1890s.

In 1962 the region gained independence

as the Republic of Uganda. In 1971 a

military officer named Idi Amin seized

control of the government. He ruled the

country as a dictator, or a leader with

unlimited power. The military government

killed as many as 300,000 Ugandans

during Amin’s rule.

In 1979 Amin was forced to leave the

country after making an unsuccessful

attack on Tanzania. Uganda elected a

president in 1980, but the military took

control again in 1985. In 1986 a rebel

leader named Yoweri Museveni became

president. Other rebels tried to bring

down his government, but he remained

in power into the 21st century.

..More to explore

Kampala

Several houses stand on a hillside in a

mountainous area of Uganda. Most of the

country’s people have homes in rural areas.

Facts About

UGANDA

Population

(2008 estimate)

29,166,000

Area

93,065 sq mi

(241,038 sq km)

Capital

Kampala

Form of

government

Republic

Major cities

Kampala, Gulu,

Lira, Jinja, Mbale

BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA Uganda 5

 

Ukraine

Ukraine is the second largest country in

Europe, after Russia. Ukraine’s capital is

Kiev.

Geography

Ukraine shares borders with Moldova,

Romania, Hungary, Slovakia, Poland,

Belarus, and Russia. The Black Sea and

the Sea of Azov lie to the south.

Almost all of Ukraine is flat. The grassland

that covers the central and southern

parts of the country is called the steppe.

In northern Ukraine are the Pripet

Marshes, the largest swamp in Europe.

The Carpathian Mountains rise in the

west. The Crimean Mountains cross the

Crimean Peninsula, a piece of land that

extends south into the Black Sea.

Ukraine’s longest river is the Dnieper.

Most of Ukraine has warm summers and

cold winters. It rains mainly in June and

July.

Plants and Animals

Most of Ukraine’s forests are in the

mountains in the west. Some trees grow

among the swamplands and in central

Ukraine. The southern grassland has few

trees. The country’s animals include

deer, wolves, bears, foxes, wildcats, beavers,

weasels, and badgers.

People

Most of Ukraine’s people are ethnic

Ukrainians, but Russians form an

important minority group. There are

also small groups of Moldovans, Tatars,

and Belarusians. Ukrainian is the main

language. Most people live in cities or

towns.

About half the people of Ukraine follow

some form of Eastern Orthodox Christianity.

Others are Ukrainian Catholics,

Roman Catholics, Protestants, or Muslims.

About one Ukrainian in six does

not follow any religion.

Cliffs on the Crimean Peninsula overlook the

Black Sea. The peninsula is the most southern

part of Ukraine.

6 Ukraine BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA

 

Economy

Manufacturing and mining are both

important to Ukraine’s economy. Factories

produce iron and steel, locomotives,

tractors, chemicals, and other goods.

Mines provide manganese, coal, iron

ore, salt, sulfur, and other minerals.

Ukraine also has reserves of natural gas

and oil.

Farming is important to the economy,

too. The main crops are potatoes, sugar

beets, wheat, barley, corn, rye, and oats.

Farmers also raise cattle, pigs, sheep, and

goats.

History

Tribes of people called Slavs arrived in

what is now Ukraine during the 400s and

500s. Viking invaders called Varangians

later mixed with the Slavs. They set up a

state that became the powerful kingdom

of Kievan Rus. Kievan Rus lost power

whenMongols invaded in the 1200s.

Poles and Cossacks

In the 1300s Lithuania took control of

most of Ukraine. Poland ruled most of

Ukraine after 1569. The Poles made

many Ukrainians into serfs, or farmers

who had to work on land that they did

not own.

Some serfs escaped and joined a military

force called the Cossacks. In 1648 the

Cossacks led a fight against Polish rule.

The Cossacks asked Russia to help them

defeat the Poles. The Cossacks won

independence from Poland, but their

new state soon became part of the Russian

Empire.

Soviet Control

In the 1700s Russia slowly gained control

over almost all of Ukraine. By 1922

Ukraine had become part of the newly

formed Soviet Union. The Soviets took

over Ukraine’s farms. During the 1930s

about 5 to 7 million Ukrainians died

from starvation.

During WorldWar II Germany invaded

Ukraine. German forces made millions