History of kenya from precolonial period to today kenya. Lecture delivered during fulbright hays group project abroad program. Although precolonial kenya did not have any kingdom or great rulers, a kingdom was established in the 18 th century called the wanga. The mau mau rebellion was a midtwentieth century counterinsurgency campaign that pitted a modern and highly mobile army against a larger, but more poorly resourced and organized, indigenous insurrection. The colonial history of kenya dates from the berlin conference of 1885 when east africa was first divided into territories of influence by the european powers. Colonialism com172 university of phoenix november 12, 20 kesha eason throughout the recent history of the last one hundred years colonialism has proved to be in part a good thing for the world. Thereafter, germany added tanganyika to its colony list in the late 1800s up to world war 1, after which britain administered the land under a league of nations charter. African nl0des of thought, patterns of cultural development, and ways of life were forever impacted by the change in political stnlcture brought about by colonialisln.
The dramaturgy of power and politics in postcolonial. But was the country where human life originated always this way. We proceed similarly to merge the gis road database from burgess et al. Identities and the colonial past in kenya and tanzania centre for. Protectorate, there existed a need for manual labor to cultivate and harvest the white. The bantu expansion from a west african centre of dispersal reached the area by the 1st millennium ad. As with much historical interpretation, the impact of british colonisation on kenya is subject to much debate. The second is the impacts of colonialism in africa. The impact of colonialism on african economic development. The paper traverses kenyas political landscape from the colonial period to the present, indicating that ethnic politics in the country has evolved over the years with the aid of politicians. N37,n47,o55 abstract in this paper we evaluate the impact of colonialism on development in subsaharan africa. Reasons for diverging postcolonial developments can be found in. The imposition of colonialism on africa altered its history forever. But it also has brought numerous different cultures together.
After world war t, a new wave of liberal thinking and the league of nations mandate sys. Aspects of british colonialism in uganda and kenya history. In the 1800, europeans colonized about 55% of the earths surface. Department of history, political science and public administration. Decolonization of kenya chronology of mau mau uprising. In the world context, colonialism had very heterogeneous effects, operating through many mechanisms, sometimes encouraging development sometimes retarding it. Kenya underwent changes after being colonized by europeans. The africans consider the impact of colonization on them to be perhaps the most important factor in understanding the present condition of the african continent and of the african. The african economy was significantly changed by the atlantic. According to the government of kenya government of 2002.
Development of education in colonial kenya was politically directed. Impact of british colonization on kenya 1679 words. It is the most economically developed country among the three east african states the others being tanzania and uganda. Colonialism in kenya lasted roughly 68 years, from the end of the 19th century until kenya s independence from great britain in 1963. Africas precapitalist forms of production were subjected to a historic break in their autonomous development.
Africathey mapped previouslv unknown areas, asia and africa, 899. Colonialism means control by one country over another area and its people. Moses onyango introduction united states international. The impact of colonialism, as portrayed in the river between, can perhaps be well understood by looking at how different characters respond to the colonial rule. British counterinsurgency in colonial kenya, by maj william b. The advent of colonialism in kenya began in the 1880s and was a part of the general trend of european colonization in africa that would later be called the scramble for africa nelson 2005. Introduction kenya is a country found in east africa that was colonized by the britain. Kenyas experience as a colony of great britain, you can get an idea of what being colonized meant both to the people being controlled and to those who control them. The africa of today is often viewed as a broken world in which constant warfare and poverty are wide spread. Resources positive impacts of colonialism why did the british colonise kenya. Pdf lecture notes on the history of kenya david peter. Surplus was quantitatively small and imposed limitations on trade. The colonial state carefully chose the leaders of the independent regime as it laid the grounds for neocolonialism.
First, both the colonial and the post colonial economies were characterized by two major forms of disarticulation. The colonial history of kenya dates from the berlin conference of 1885 when the european powers first partitioned east africa into spheres of influence. The walls are full of historical portraits consisting of tom mboya, pio gama pinto, the kapenguria six. The aim of this coursework is to examine and critically assess, to what extent the british colonisation of kenya have a positive impact on kenyan history. Colonialism and economic development in africa leander heldring and james a. The two paradigms correspond to alternate visions and activities of two dominant players in kenyas postcolonial. Context country algeria kenya colonizer france britain who crua revolutionary committee of unity and action fln national liberation front aln national liberation army the french paratroopers, citizens living in algeria home guard kikuyu mau mau leaders kikuyu the. History russell mcgillivray kenya the british colonization of kenya destroyed the culture and economy of the native people, but it established a democratic government and left kenya a more modernized country. In the world context, colonialism had very heterogeneous effects, operating through many. With the borders of the modern state at the crossroads of the bantu, nilosaharan and afroasiatic ethnolinguistic areas of africa, kenya is a truly multi. The colonial legacy in kenyabritish military relations. Each group had government represented by groups of elders, but possessed no specific centralized government.
The work will be examined under two broad headings. It explains the depth of colonialism within kenyas context and analyses the impact of colonial conquest, the imposition of international and local administrative boundaries. Western kenya would be politically and economically exploited by britain. The kamba, kikuyu, and maasai from 1900 to 1939, princeton university press, new jersey, 1976, 372 pp. The decolonization of christianity in colonial kenya scholarworks. L281 employers were successful in combining to force a wage ceiling in the. Anciennt kenya was inhabited by variety of groups that none established themselves as a kingdom. The first is the reasons for colonization of africa and the strategies used to achieve the colonial objectives.
Colonialism in kenya affected things in many ways such as government, religion, education, and economics. It is in this view that the study surveyed the influence of politics in development of education from the colonial era to the present period. Government established the east african protectorate and, soon after, opened the fertile highlands to white settlers. And further, jones 2006 assesses the impact of neocolonialism on the compradorial the local wing of the ruling class and subaltern classes of african states. Colonialism ccurs when one nation takes control of another. March 18, 2002, the two parties merged to form new kanu.
The colonial economy has had a lasting impact in the following ways. Colonialism affected kenya politically, socially and economically. Their ancestors were kicked out of their own kingdom by new coming egocentric europeans. Kenyas silence on colonialism wairimu gitau 103 erment centre cyec visited the nyeri museum a former colonial court in central kenya where there is an ongoing exhibition of the struggle for independence. The british would force their beliefs and ideas of a more civilized lifestyle on the native people of africa. The governor was answerable to the colonial secretary in britain.
It has since been substantially revised for this publication. This clip shows how kenya was settled by british citizens, transforming the native kikuyu into wage laborers. By 1800 europeans had colonized about 55% of the earths surface. This essay analyses the effect of colonialism in kenya. The need to reconcile customary law and womens rights kenya is a legally plural state where several different legal and normative systems operate alongside each other.
It is also known to be relatively political stable apart from the post election violence that rocked the country between. Colonialism as a whole, africa has had a tough past. Archaeological evidence attests to a long history of settlement in the area. The goal of my essay was such to explore whether or not a postcolonial discourse could be found in western media. Africa, for many, is synonymous with famine, disease, malnutrition, and poor medical care. The first section attempts to locate the origins of ethnicity in colonialism. July 5th to august 6th 2009 at the moi university main campus. This discussion merged with our standing conviction on the need. Despite british claims to kenya and uganda, colonization did not being. The same trends were realized in post independent kenya. Mau mau, counterinsurgency, colonialism, nationalism, great britain, africa. From colonialism to nationalism after 1890 the europeans organized and consoli dated their colonial possessions in subsaharan rzk. It has shown to be at times violent with nations fighting war after war. Colonialism and economic development in subsaharan africa.
The british government founded the east african protectorate in 1895 and soon after, opened the fertile highlands to white settlers. It was only after the establishment of the kenya african union that the nationalists attempted territorywide mobilization of kenyans. Kenya had a disputed presidential election in late 2007 which erupted into ethnic clashes between supporters of the two candidates. The walls are full of historical portraits consisting of. The colonisation of kenya in 1889 completely altered these arrangements.
Kenyan land disputes in the context of social conflict. Operationally, neocolonialism functions through various modes cultural, economic, political, and social. Western media was quick to report back that the sudden violence was due to tribal differences. Based in london, he was the political head of the british colonial administration and overall coordinator of the colonial policies as passed by the british parliament. Colonial system of administration in kenya atika school. A part of eastern africa, the territory of what is now kenya has seen human habitation since the beginning of the lower paleolithic. This exact scenario takes place in the book, worries of the heart by kenda mutongi. Tanganyika, historical eastern african state that in 1964 merged with zanzibar to form the united republic of tanganyika and zanzibar, later renamed the united republic of tanzania. British would rule western kenya would last until 1963. Kenyans still struggle to combine kenya daima with the notion of ethnic strengths.
From 1895 to 1920, the kenyan colonial state was expanding and changing. Colonialism and development in africa abstract in this paper we evaluate the impact of colonialism on development in subsaharan africa. Daniel, libby, joshua, bethany, caleb and ruben simkins, n. This nationalism was based on primordial ethnicity and colonial administration. This reaction varied between the acceptance of, collaboration with and opposition to the new foreign rulers of the continent. Colonialism in kenya lasted roughly 68 years, from the end of the 19th century until kenyas independence from great britain in 1963. The interaction of legal systems is complex and often engenders conflict and competition. Kenya and tanganyika and the present day ethnic identities and conflicts in the two. The british allied with one ethnic group of peoples not just politics but militarily too. Colonialism and the african experience chapter 4 introduction colonization of africa by european countries was a monumental milestone in the development of africa. A brief history of neocolonial kenya follows as background to the conceptualising and. Colonialism and economic development in subsaharan africa xvith world economic history congress stellenbosch james a. The race for europeans to colonize africa began in the 1400s.
What kinds of structures of power and authority did the colonial powers establish in kenya during the colonial period. Robinson daron acemoglu, leander heldring, philip osafokwaako and tristan reid harvard july 9, 2012. There is merely a new form of colonialism, by the same western countries, masked under the pretext of economic support for africa, directly enforced or institutionalized in the world bank, the international monetary fund imf and the world trade organization wto. Who wielded and exercised power and authority in kenya during the colonial. Imperialism also had many negative effects on the people of kenya, because they were forced to follow. The account of kenyan history in the 1960s which has been put forward in this book has been the result of trying to answer a series of questions posed by underdevelopment theory. Ford, amanda ruth, the decolonization of christianity in colonial kenya 2015. African drama, postcolonialism, kenya 1 this paper was initially presented at the researching drama and theatre in education conference, 8 april 1997, school of education, university of exeter, uk. Colonialism and its effect on kenya the odyssey online. The formal imposition of colonial rule in kenya came with the declara tion of the east. Decades after the end of colonisation the intellectual debate over the positive and negative impacts of colonisation in kenya is still very much alive. This time may be hard to look back at for many native africans. Despite british claims to kenya and uganda, colonization did not being until 1896 when the british began building the uganda railroad.
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