Kenya

Located in Eastern Africa, Kenya borders South Sudan, Ethiopia, Somalia, Uganda and Tanzania. Kenya also boarders inland Lake Victoria to the west and the Indian Ocean to the southeast. The Great Rift Valley also runs through Kenya along with neighboring countries of Ethiopia and Tanzania. The importance of this region is said the first fossils of humans were found in this region. Prior to colonization the bantu and ironworkers occupied the region and due to the proximity to the middle east trade routes with Arabs developed around the first century. During the 18^th and 19^th centuries,

“the Maasai moved into what is now central Kenya from an area north of Lake Rudolf sometime in the mid-18th century. Their southward advance was checked about 1830 by the Hehe people from what is now Tanzania, but their raiding parties continued to range widely and even reached the coast south of Mombasa in 1859. The Kikuyu, who were far more numerous than the Maasai, also looked to the mountains and forests for protection against Maasai war parties. The Kikuyu had expanded northward, westward, and southward from their territory in the Fort Hall area of present-day Central province, where they cleared the forests to provide themselves with agricultural land.”

Ntarangwi, M. (n.d.). Kenya. From Encyclopedia Britannica: https://www.britannica.com/place/Kenya/History

Prior to the British colonization of Kenya, the Portuguese established a footprint in the region long before hand. The Portuguese remained in modern day Kenya from 1498 to 1730 while exploiting the people, resources, and location. With the prime location on the Indian Oceans coast the Portuguese capitalized on trade routes with India and the rest of Asia. In 1888 the British continued to lay their global footprint in Africa, adding to their vast empire.

Queen Victoria sat on Britain’s throne during much of the African partition, and by the end of the nineteenth century she reigned over the most expansive empire in her country’s history. Along with her new African territories were those her imperialist negotiators picked up in the Scramble in East Asia, including Malaya, parts of Borneo and New Guinea, and numerous islands in the Pacific such as Fiji and the Solomons. These were added to an already impressive list of formal colonies, including the prize of India and various islands in the Caribbean, as well as numerous territories claiming dominion status such as Australia, New Zealand, and Canada. The British Empire encompassed nearly 13 million square miles or roughly 25 percent of the world’s total landmass. Queen Victoria presided over some invested in these countries and their trading dependence on Britain, these territories were British colonies in all but name.

Elkins, C. (2005). Imperial Reckoning – The Untold Story of Britain’s Gulag in Kenya. New York: Henry Holt and Company, LLC.

In August 1896, the British took on the momentous task of constructing a railway expanding 582 miles from coastal region of Mombasa to lake Victoria. Unfortunately, this task required additional help, so Britain received additional help from their Indian colony. So, during this project Africans and Indians worked side by side under the harshest conditions including the man eating lions of Tsavo. The 1996 film “The Ghost and The Darkness” tells the story of how the lions managed to kill railroad workers despite all the counter measures to prevent future attacks, the lions still manage to take workers consistently. After the killing of the lions, the pair are now in display at the Field Museum in Chicago, IL.

By 1950 Kenya was on the verge of one of the bloodiest and most protracted wars of decolonization fought in Britain’s twentieth-century empire. Mau Mau had enormous grassroots support, and it was clearly directed at both the white and black faces of British colonial rule, notably the settlers and the colonial-appointed chiefs. Alongside the settlers stood the other target of Mau Mau hatred, the colonial-appointed chiefs and their followers who in the upcoming war would be called loyalists. These men became enormously wealthy and powerful at the expense of their fellow Kikuyu. Some even earned the status of senior chief, overseeing vast portions of the Kikuyu reserves, with all the inherent potential for self-aggrandizement. For the Kikuyu masses, senior chiefs like the soon-to-be-famous Waruhiu represented everything that was corrupt about Britain’s civilizing mission.

Elkins, C. (2005). Imperial Reckoning – The Untold Story of Britain’s Gulag in Kenya. New York: Henry Holt and Company, LLC.

The Mau Mau uprising lasted from 1952 to 1960, the uprising was the anger and frustration of British Colonialism. The Mau Mau consisted of about different groups throughout the colony; Kamba, Kikuyu, Maasai, Meru, and Embu people.

Although the Mau Mau were eventually defeated they were skilled warriors that were a formidable force against the British. Casualties from the Mau Mau amassed to approximately 11,000 and little over 1,000 executions from the British. However, the struggled for independence was not in vein, on December 12, 1963 that dream came true. The first president of Kenya, named after him, was Jomo Kenyatta a member of the Kenya African National Union. In 1991 Kenya departed from a single party government, now as a multiparty government it eventually led to a new constitution in 2011.

Today Kenya receives much of its revenue from agriculture and tourism. Safaris throughout Kenya’s 60 national parks, the wildebeest migration, and the beach resorts along the Indian Ocean brings along with other tourist attractions, Kenya brings in millions of people every year.

Culture

Music in Kenya varies across the numerous ethnic groups throughout the country.

Benga Music has evolved between the 1940s and 1960s and borrows from existing music genres such as soukous, kwela, Congolese music style, and Cuban music.
Hotel Pop
Regional Pop
Hip Hop
Reggae
Rock

Sports Kenyans participate in numerous sports that includes cricket, rugby, football, field hockey, boxing and specially long distance running that they are well known for and they have the medals to prove it.