Table of Contents
What was Kenya before colonization?
Although pre-colonial Kenya did not have any kingdom or great rulers, a kingdom was established in the 18th century called the Wanga Kingdom. Wanga has a centralized system with a king as a leader, whom they call a Nabongo. The predominant religion in Kenya today is Christianity.
What was Kenya like before imperialism?
Although Kenya flourished in the decades after independence, it still faces a number of domestic and regional problems. Prior to the arrival of Arab settlers, the area in East Africa known today as Kenya was predominately populated by farmers and herders, many of who had migrated from nearby regions.
What was ancient Kenya called?
Kenia. The mountain’s name was accepted, pars pro toto, as the name of the country. It did not come into widespread official use during the early colonial period, when the country was referred to as the East African Protectorate. The official name was changed to the Colony of Kenya in 1920.
Who were the early inhabitants of Kenya?
Neolithic. The first inhabitants of present-day Kenya were hunter-gatherer groups, akin to the modern Khoisan speakers. The Kansyore culture, dating from the mid 5th millennium BCE to the 1st millennium BCE was one of East Africa’s earliest ceramic producing group of hunter-gatherers.
Who are the original inhabitants of Kenya?
The indigenous peoples in Kenya include hunter-gatherers such as the Ogiek, Sengwer, Yaaku Waata and Sanya, while pastoralists include the Endorois, Turkana, Maasai, Samburu and others.
Where did Kenya originate from?
Origin of name Kenya is named after a mountain of the same name. The Kikuyu people who lived around present day Mt Kenya referred to it as Kirinyaga or Kerenyaga, meaning ‘mountain of whiteness’ because of its snow capped peak.
Who were the original people of Kenya?
Indigenous Peoples in Kenya include hunter-gatherers such as Ogiek, Sengwer, Yaaku Waata and Sanya, while pastoralists include Endorois, Turkana, Maasai, Samburu and others.
Who were the original inhabitants of Kenya?
When did the first white man come to Kenya?
European exploration of the interior commenced in 1844 when two German missionaries, Johann Ludwig Krapf and Johannes Rebmann, ventured inland with the aim of spreading Christianity.
Where are Kenyans originally from?
The first people to settle in Kenya were indigenous African communities who migrated from various parts of the continent. Other visitors included traders, explorers and tourists who came in from various parts of the world such as Portugal, Arabia, Roman empire, India and Greece.
Who came to Kenya first?
The earliest inhabitants of Kenya were hunter-gatherers but from about 2,000 BC herders came to the region. Then from about 800 AD Arabs sailed to Kenya. Some settled and intermarried and they created the Swahili culture along the coast. The first European to reach Kenya was Vasco da Gama in 1498.
Where did the Kenyan tribes come from?
The Bantu-speaking people (such as the Gusii, Kikuyu, Akamba and Meru) arrived from West Africa, while the Nilotic speakers (Maasai, Luo, Samburu and Turkana) came from the Nile Valley in southern Sudan.
When did the United Kingdom establish its influence in Kenya?
The United Kingdom established its influence in the 19th century. The colonial history of Kenya dates from the Berlin Conference of 1885 when the European powers first partitioned East Africa into spheres of influence.
When did the first people come to Kenya?
Cushitic-speaking people from northern Africa moved into the area that is now Kenya beginning around 2000 BC. Arab traders began frequenting the Kenya coast around the first century AD.
How did the history of Kenya change from Arab to Christian?
Arab governance of all the major ports along the East African coast continued until British interests aimed particularly at ending the slave trade and creation of a wage-labor system began to put pressure on Omani rule, this is the point where the history of Kenya started changing and moving towards Christianity.
Why did Kenya have chiefs’tyranny in early colonial Kenya?
Argues that the chiefs’ tyranny in early colonial Kenya had its roots in the British administrative style since the Government needed strong-handed local leaders to enforce its unpopular laws and regulations. van Zwanenberg R (1972). The agricultural history of Kenya to 1939.