Kenyan Independence Movement

Between the years 1881 and 1914, African territory was being invaded by Europeans during the New Imperialism period. Before Europe’s invasion, Africa consisted of various tribes and had no central government due to this during the mid nineteenth century. Europe attempted to colonize Africa using harsh military force and resulted in the European Scramble for Africa. The European Scramble for Africa caused African leaders to have different reactions such as some wanting to have no conflicts, but peace, surrendering to the Europeans due to fear, and also attempting to fight back against the Europeans.

The Kenyan feminist and environmental activist, Wangari Maathai, explores the legacy of colonialism and oppression in her native country through her moving 2006 memoir, Unbowed. Maathai explains that over the course of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Africa experienced a massive influx of white settlers. In an effort to solidify control over recently acquired colonies, many European powers had encouraged large numbers of their ethnically white citizens to make a new home on the African continent. As a result, thousands of native Africans were displaced. Maathai’s ancestors, the Kikuyu and Maasai peoples were among them. The majority of these forced dislocations took

“African Perspectives on Colonialism” is a book written by A. Adu Boahen. This book classifies the African responses to European colonialism in the 19th century. Boahen begins with the status of Africa in the last quarter of the 19th century and follows through the first years of African independence. This book deals with a twenty year time period between 1880 and 1900. Boahen talks about when Africa was seized and occupied by the Imperial Powers of Europe. Eurocentric points of view dominated the study of this era but Boahen gives us the African perspective. There are always two sides of the story and Boehen tells us the side less talked about informing us of what he knows.

History within Kenya truly started from 1885-1963 and that’s when imperialism started in Kenya. The British owned Kenya as a colony and slowly started enforcing laws that Kenya had never experienced before. The imperialism that took place in Kenya had a massive effect on the economy, political parties, and culture. All three of these, that were affected of imperialism, still show these effects today. Although Kenya has recovered from a huge past.

Kenya had a prime minister named Kenyatta, after he was released from prison he continued to strive

There was a great question asked by numerous individuals in the eighteenth century with what happens to people’s lives when their country is a colony of another country. This was very important to Americans when they were being ruled by Great Britain, and even to this day it remains important when countries find themselves controlled by more powerful outsiders. But what is colonialism? Colonialism occurs when one nation takes control of another. Kenya’s experience as a colony of Great Britain gives us more of an idea of what being colonized meant both to the people being controlled and to those who control them. Although it seems hard to believe, Kenya was created by the Europeans and generally this had a positive on effect on Kenyans because it began development.

From the earliest times, war has existed as a painful reality. Stories are passed down from generation to generation about brave men fighting epic battles in ancient civilizations. Occasionally a different type of legend emerges: the homefront hero. In Ancient Greece and Rome, elderly statesmen prevented famine and raised supplies for their distant armies in wartime. From then on through history, those left behind, from the leaders of countries tested in resolve and commitment by wars to the ordinary citizens who rise above their routines to serve their countries, are powerful forces behind victories. World War II was no exception. While the soldiers abroad were undoubtedly true heroes of the war, the parents, siblings, and children they left behind also assisted in the war effort. No one remained truly unaffected by the war. Without the labors of women, the efforts of schoolchildren, and the institution of rationing, World War II could not have been won.

The scenes in New York City of soldiers returning from World War II have been remembered for decades. The huge parades, the confetti flying through the streets, and couples embracing were reflective of the gratitude the country encompassed for soldiers returning from World War II (Crowe, Pervis et al.). The country as a whole was very appreciative of the services of these soldiers. Laif Maseng, a World War II veteran said that his return from World War II was not quite like the vibrant scenes in New York (Maseng) “For me, it was more of a ‘we’re glad you’re home safe, now go get a

An extreme turmoil had been taking place during the early 1940’s. The world was at war. Many young soldiers had grown anxious during this upheaval since

In the early 1880’s, the powers of Europe started to take control of regions in Africa and set up colonies there. In the beginning, colonization caused the Africans little harm, but before long, the Europeans started to take complete control of wherever they went. The Europeans used their advanced knowledge and technology to easily maneuver through the vast African landscape and used advanced weapons to take control of the African people and their land. The countries that claimed the most land and had the most significant effect on Africa were France, England, Belgium, and Germany. There were many reasons for the European countries to be competing against each other to gain colonies in Africa. One of the main reasons was that the

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.[1] During the 1880’s through 1914, the start of WWI, was an age of imperialism. One place that felt victim to this imperialism was Africa. At this time Africa was a wholly unmodernized continent. The reason the Europeans went after Africa was the introduction of the idea of social Darwinism and the “white man’s burden”. Social Darwinism is the belief that only the strongest and the most cunning can make it to the top of the social ladder, and it was the White Man’s Burden to step in for these undeveloped countries

Beginning in 1880, there was a growing desire for European countries to expand and control their rule. The only continent at that time that was left uncontrolled and, in the European's eyes uncivilized, was Africa. This was the start of Western Imperialism. All European countries wanted their piece of Africa and to get it, they would let nothing stand in their way. They would change the entire government, religion, market, and behavior of most of the African nation and affect almost every person living there. An account of the impact of Imperialism is given in Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart. This book shows the changes that occurred in Africa during Imperialism and its affect on the community and the people

The people of Kenya have gone though many changes since gaining their independence in 1963. They now have the freedom of speech and religion. Kenya has also increased its educational system by building more schools.

In the years leading up to Kenya’s independence from the British Empire, a violent uprising later known as Mau Mau plagued the colony. From1952 to 1960, African forest fighters waged a war against the British who had little experience fighting against guerilla warfare. In an effort to bring the crime wave, as the British called it, to an end, colonial officials housed those who they believed to be working for or in collaboration with the Mau Mau fighters in detention camps. The Kikuyu, Kenya’s largest ethnic group, were those who were primarily targeted by the British. This is due to the fact that the majority of Mau Mau fighters were members of that tribal/ethnic group. After several years and many reports of brutality and massacres within the detention camps, members of the British population began to call for an end to the camps and an end to colonialism. How were the British Empire and its allies able to justify such a horrific counterinsurgency program, especially so soon after the liberation of Nazi concentration camps?

The paper seeks to understand the political, social and cultural variables that have thrown Kenya into the geo-political limelight insofar as the so-called ‘War on Terrorism’ is