Kenya’s history stretches back millions of years and has been intimately linked with that of mankind’s. Excavation sites in Kenya and elsewhere in the region have revealed ape-man fossils that have been the foundation for the theory that East Africa is the ‘Cradle of Mankind’. The Leakey family have been at the forefront of East African anthropology, with Dr Louise Leakey and his wife, Mary, finding many key fossil remains that have bridged some of the gaps in our genealogy, between us and our ape ancestors. Their son, Richard, following in their footsteps found an almost complete skeleton of Homo erectus, near Lake Turkana in northern Kenya. The famous ‘Turkana Boy’ a 1.6 million year old hominid is considered to be a possible direct ancestor of modern man, Homo sapiens.
There are still differing opinions as to our evolutionary path but what is certain is that the grass plains, forests and hills of Kenya have witnessed of much of our human history. From around 50,000 years BC Kenya’s earliest people lived as hunter-gathers developing tools and speech and learning how to make fire. Over the next millennia waves of African tribal immigrants were to appear in Kenya, all of whom have given it a rich, diverse and fascinating ethnic and cultural history.
In about 500BC the first overseas migrants started to arrive on the coast of Kenya. Trade and exploration drew them to the Kenyan shore and the first documented description of Mombasa is by a Greek called Diogenes in AD110. However it wasn’t the Greeks who were the first outsiders to dominate the coast but the Arabs and Persians, the founders of the Swahili culture. The word Swahili derives from the Arab word Sahel, meaning ‘coast’. They developed thriving trade routes with India, China and into the African interior transporting, goods, textiles, ivory, slaves and centuries later European explorers.
1490s-1840s: The coast of East Africa was a valuable foothold in the eastern trade routes, particularly as Mombasa was a key port for ivory. Hoping to improve their trade with India the Portuguese turned their attention and rather brutally dominated (by economic and religious suppression) the region between 1498-1698. The Portuguese lost control of the Swahili coast to the Sultans of Oman; who initially governed the coastal trading cities from Muscat. However, towards the middle of the 19th century, Sultan Seyyid Said moved his power base from Muscat to Zanzibar and by 1840 the entire East African coast was under Omani rule.
1840s-1890s: European exploration of Kenya wasn’t initiated until 1844 when two German missionaries, Johan Ludwig Krapf and Joahnnes Rebmann ventured into the interior from Mombasa. Their goal wasn’t ivory or slaves but the spread of Christianity. They were the first Europeans to spot Kilimanjaro and Mount Kenya (1848). These early missionary explores sparked the imagination for a string of other adventurers to probe the unknown areas of Kenya including Joseph Thomson, who lent his name to the elegant Thomson gazelle.
These explorers and their stories of discovery opened the eyes of the European powers of the day to the raw potential of East Africa. The British, Germans and Italians all created protectorates and colonies in East Africa in a bid to muscle in on the action. The initial driving force wasn’t national interests but the desire to develop lucrative trade routes by pioneering businessman such as the German Carl Peters and the Scot William Mackinnon. These businessmen compelled governments to protect their interests and in 1885 the East African territories were carved-up between Britain, Germany and France. The Germans took Tanganyika (present day Tanzania and Zanzibar), the British assumed control of Kenya and Uganda, whilst the French received the island of Madagascar.
1890s-1920s: With Kenya and Uganda now under British control there was a desire link the two countries with a railway line from the coast to Lake Victoria; to aid trade and development. However there was a great deal of opposition to this railway line to the ‘middle of nowhere’ and it was dubbed the Lunatic Express. Nevertheless it was completed in 1901 and it certainly had a lasting legacy. It helped establish Nairobi in 1899, when a railhead was created at the site of Maasai watering hole (Nyrobi). It also gave rise to the legend of the man eating lions of Tsavo who terrified and devoured the Indian ‘coolies’ who were drafted in to build the railway. The railway also opened up Kenya to settlement by European setters, farmers and the elite of British society who came to make a fortune or were attracted by big game hunting. Famous names such as Ernest Hemingway, Winston Churchill and Theodore Roosevelt all came to Kenya to bag a trophy animal.
1920s-1960s: The colonial settlement of Kenya marginalised many of the local tribes especially the Kikuyu. This gave rise to African Nationalism in the 1920s with a leading Kenyan political figure being Jonhstone Kamau Kamau Wa Ngengi, more commonly known as Jomo Kenyatta. WWII gave Kenyans an insight into European life and politics with Jomo Kenyatta highlighting the unjust political and social situation for the vast majority of Kenyans. Kenya’s first political party was the Kenya African Union (KAU) but Kenyan nationalism was to follow two paths: one of violence and one of political emergence. After the 2nd World War this violent struggle emerged as the ‘Mau Mau’ rebellion, with their base around Mount Kenya. This bloody insurgency peaked in the 1950s and during this time 1000s of captured rebels were held in prison camps, whilst Jomo Kenyatta was arrested and imprisoned until 1960.
1960s-1970s: By this time Britain’s political willingness to maintain Kenya as a colony was in total decline and in 1962 The Lancaster House agreement set a date for Kenya’s independence. The declaration of independence took place on 12th December 1963 and by this time Jomo Kenyatta was the countries first Prime Minister, leading a coalition government between his party, the Kenyan African National Union (KANU) and the Kenya Africa Democratic Union (KADU). The 1960 were a time of prosperity for Kenya with the development of the East African Community (a liaison between Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda) and a land distribution policy was initiated. The ‘million acre’ scheme redistributed swathes of land but Kikuyu elite seemed to benefit the most.
1980s: The East African Community had begun to decline by the mid 70s and finally fell apart in 1977. With Jomo Kenyatta’s death in August 1978 led to the rise of a new Kenyan political dynasty, that of Daniel Toroitich Arap Moi a leading figure in the KANU. As Moi strengthen his political control the 1980s saw a number of coup attempts to oust him but his Kikuyu support and his masterful political skill in ensuring no ministers became to powerful ensured his continued presidential rule. This period also saw to rise of Islamic and communist activity, which gave rise to close ties with the US. Kenya was also accused of poor human rights record but its policy on conservation became exemplary, largely due to the appointment of Richard Leakey as head of the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) and who instigated a very successful anti-ivory poaching programme.
1990s: Until the 1991 Kenya was effectively a one party state but in this year political opposition finally took shape with the establishment of the Forum for the Restoration of Democracy (FORD) lead by Oginga Odinga. During the 1990s there were a number of political elections, which were often violent but Mio still managed to maintain power. The El Nino rains in 1997 and 1998 wrought havoc to Kenya’s infrastructure destroying property, roads and crops. 1998 saw the bombing of the US Embassy in Nairobi by Osama Bin Laden’s al-Qaeda network.
2000-2008: 2002 saw the rise of a new political force in Kenya. The newly formed National Rainbow Coalition (NARC) lead by Mwai Kibaki who won a landslide victory in December 2002. However in 2007 Kenya saw more political and civil turmoil in the run-up to the presidential election in Dec 2007. Again Kibaki won but the results were contested by Raila Odinga of the Orange Democratic Movement (ODC), who alleged electoral manipulation. The civil unrest and violent disturbances were brought to an end in April 2009 when Kibaki and Odinga formed a coalition government, much to the relief of the country and international observers.
Kenya is still a leading African Nation and despite some of its chequered political past it is considered, by many, to be a good example of African unity and development. It continues to prosper with exports of agriculture and horticultural products, primarily tea, coffee, cut flowers and vegetables earning over 60% of its foreign revenue. Tourism is also a major money earner for Kenya with tourists attracted by its remarkable coastline, national parks and reserves that protect a diverse and unique range of marine life, wildlife and birdlife. Having learnt the lessons of rampant tourism in the 1970s and 1980s Kenya is now developing as a sophisticated safari and beach destination that is paying heed to responsible tourism principals.
People & Religions of Kenya
Kenya is a multicultural society, which reflects the historical waves of immigrants that have settled in Kenya. 65% of the population is Bantu speaking (from south and west Africa), among them Kikuyu and Luhya tribes. Cushitic (from Ethiopia) speaking people include the Boran and Nilotic (from the Nile) speaking people include the Luo, Maasai and Samburu. Swahili Arabs, Asians and Europeans complete the mix of this ethnically diverse country. Christianity is the dominate religion in Kenya (66% of the population). Other religions followed are Islam, Hinduism and Sikhism.
Languages of Kenya
English is the official language of Kenya but the coastal language Swahili is spoken by most Kenyans on a daily basis. There are a host of other tribal languages spoken in this tribally diverse country.