History of Kenya

The history of Kenya goes back to at least 2000 B.C. when people from the Northern part of the African continent started their movements South and East. Around the same time, the Bantu people migrated Eastward from the South and the West, settling around Lake Victoria and the Eastern Highlands.

By the 1st century AD, Arabs and Persians began taking an interest in the area along the East African coast that is now Kenya and during the next few centuries they colonized the area. Very early in its history, Kenya was subjected to a variety of languages, cultures and influences that helped shape what it is today. The Swahili language, that emerged as a common language for trade, is influenced by both the Bantu and the Arabic languages.

Pre Colonial Kenya

The Europeans first made their appearance in the History of Kenya around the end of the 15th century when the Portuguese explorer, Vasco da Gama, visited the Kenyan coast. Portugal’s foothold on Kenyan territory lasted for over a century, falling during the early 1800s to the control of the Imam of Oman when Kenya became subjected to Islamic rule.

Colonial Kenya

In 1885, imperialists from several European nations, all claiming to have rights in the African continent, met in Berlin in 1885 to assign each country its own sphere of influence in Africa. In 1895, the British Government established the East African Protectorate and opened up the East African coast to White Settlers. British Colonialism had arrived in Kenya. In 1920, the East African Protectorate became a British colony.

A resistance force, known as the Mau Mau gathered force over the next few decades in rebellion against the colonialists and by 1952 there was an uprising that created a State of Emergency until 1959. On December 12, 1963, Kenya achieved independence and Jomo Kenyatta, a Kikuyu, became the first President of Kenya.

Post-Colonialism

New democracies have to find their political feet. Kenya’s newfound independence began with the KANU establishing itself as the sole party and Kenya officially became a single party state in 1982. As the history of Kenya unfolds into the present day, the KANU party has been splintered and today’s President of Kenya, Mwai Kibaki, is a member of the Party of National Unity (PNU). He struggles to maintain power however, as the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) gathers supporters and presents a strong opposition.

Return from History of Kenya to My Kenya Guide