A History of Kenya Timeline
WHAT IS THE ORIGIN OF THE WORD KENYA?
The history of Kenya: So what is the meaning of the name of this East African country? Its origin comes from Mount Kenya which means the mountain of the ostrich. The colors of its woodpeckers resemble the plumages of this bird. He is named Kiinya by the Kamba (people of the semi-arid regions). The human presence in this region dates back to 2000 BC. J.-C. when tribes of Ethiopian origin came to occupy the north of Kenya especially around Lake Turkana.
History On Kenya
- Kenya Total area 5,80,400 km²
- Capital of Kenya Nairobi
- Language of Kenya Swahili
- Currency of Kenya Kenyan Shilling
Religious Beliefs In Kenya
Religious percentage in Kenya as bellow:
| Rank | Belief System | Share of Kenyan Population |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Protestant Christianity | 47.7% |
| 2 | Roman Catholic Christianity | 23.4% |
| 3 | Other Forms of Christianity | 11.9% |
| 4 | Sunni Islam | 9.9% |
| 5 | Atheism or Agnosticism | 2.4% |
| 6 | Indigenous African Spirituality | 1.7% |
| 7 | Shia and Other Non-Sunni Forms of Islam | 1.2% |
| Hindus and Other Beliefs | 1.8% |
A Brief History of the African Country of Kenya
Kenya history timeline: Fossils found in East Africa suggest that protohumans roamed the region more than 20 million years ago. Recent discoveries near Lake Turkana in Kenya indicate that hominids lived in the area 2.6 million years ago.
Cushitic speaking people from North Africa moved to the region that is now Kenya from 2000 BC. Arab traders began frequenting the coast of Kenya around the first century AD. Kenya’s proximity to the Arabian Peninsula invited colonization, and Arab and Persian settlements grew along the coast in the eighth century. During the first millennium AD, the Nilotic and Bantu peoples settled in the region, and the latter now make up three-quarters of Kenya’s population.
History of Kenya since 2000 BC, nomadic tributes from Ethiopia have settled in northern Kenya in the Lake Turkana region. The nomadic tribes of Ethiopia printed the first human footprints in 2000 BC.C. Millennia later a second group appeared, occupying much of the central part of the country and being an ancestor of some of the Kenyan tribes. Bantu-speaking ones (such as the Gusii, Kikuyu, Kamba and Meru) came from West Africa. The Nilotic-speaking ones (Maasai, Luo, Samburu and Turkana) came from the Nile Valley in southern Sudan. history of Kenya
The Middle Ages in Kenya
Inland migration facilitated that in the eighth century the Muslims of the Arabian Peninsula and the Shirazs of Persia (today Iran) settled on the east coast of Africa.
The Portuguese arrived in the fifteenth century, attracted by the aroma of spices and money. With Vasco da Gama began the looting of Kenya. They raided almost all Swahili commercial towns, including Mombasa. It was the end of the Arab monopoly over the Indian Ocean. The Portuguese remained centuries, pitted the sultans against each other and applied a harsh colonial regime. But their dominance was somewhat unstable, as they depended on their expeditions to Goa, India, for supplies. history of Kenya
The Arabs regained Control Of The Coast In 1720.
The Contemporary Age in Kenya: The Omani dynasties of the Persian Gulf – of Arab origin – raided along the East African coast throughout the eighteenth century. The ravages of the Portuguese era and the constant quarrels between the Arab governors led to a decline in trade and prosperity in the area. Until then, the economic superpowers (Britain and Germany) showed no interest in this portion of Africa. The Rift Valley and the Aberdare Highlands remained home to the Maasai warrior tribe. history of Kenya
Pre-colonial period in Kenya’s history
Around two thousand years BC, the peoples of North Africa who spoke Cushitic inhabited parts of East Africa that are now known as Kenya. Persian and Arab settlements were established on the coast of Kenya in the first century AD due to the country’s proximity to the Arabian Peninsula. During the first millennium AD, Bantu and Nilotic peoples moved and settled in the region. history of Kenya
Europeans Are Coming
The Swahili language, a mixture of Bantu and Arabic, developed as a lingua franca for trade between different peoples. Arab rule on the coast was overshadowed by the arrival in 1498 of the Portuguese, who in turn yielded to Islamic control under the Imam of Oman in the 1600s. The The United Kingdom established its influence in the nineteenth century. history of Kenya
Kenya’s colonial history dates back to the Berlin Conference of 1885 when European powers first divided East Africa into spheres of influence. In 1895, the British government created the East African Protectorate and, soon after, opened the fertile highlands to white settlers. Settlers were allowed to express themselves in the government even before it officially became a British colony in 1920, but Africans were barred from direct political participation until 1944.
Mau Mau resist colonialism
From October 1952 to December 1959, Kenya was under a state of emergency following the “Mau Mau” rebellion against British colonial rule. During this period, African participation in the political process increased rapidly.
When Did Kenya Get Its Independence?
when did kenya get its independence? The first direct elections of Africans to the Legislative Council were held in 1957. Kenya became independent on 12 December 1963 and the following year joined the Commonwealth. Jomo Kenyatta, a member of the large Kikuyu ethnic group and head of the African National Union of Kenya (KANU), became Kenya’s first president. The minority party, Kenya African Democratic Union (KADU), representing a coalition of small ethnic groups, voluntarily disbanded in 1964 and joined KANU.
The road to Kenyatta’s one-party state
A small but important left-wing opposition party, the Kenyan People’s Union (KPU), was formed in 1966, led by Jaramogi Oginga Odinga, a former vice president and elder of Luo. The KPU was banned shortly after and its leader arrested. No new opposition parties were formed after 1969 and KANU became the only political party. Upon Kenyatta’s death in August 1978, Vice President Daniel Arap Moi became president.
Kenya History And Culture
In Kenya is the Rift Valley, considered as the origin of humanity. Paleontologists found there bones with an age of 4 million years, and the fossil of a Homo habilis dating back more than 2 million years. Therefore, it seems that in Kenya it all began.
Multiculturalism is very palpable in Kenya due, above all, to the number of diverse tribes and peoples that make up the country. So it will be common for these tribes to speak different languages or even have different customs. The main tribes are the Kikuyu, Meru, Kalenjin, Luyha, Luo, Kisii, Kamba, Swahili, Masai and Turkana. In total there are more than 42 ethnic groups in the country.
However, all Kenyans have one thing in common, rhythm in their veins. Music is in every corner of this country: on public transport; in the streets of the slums; at all family events, funerals included; in the headphones of young people you cross the street. Everyone knows how to dance to each song, regardless of the tribe to which it belongs.
Kenyans are cheerful people, optimistic by nature, where grievances and bitterness are out of the way of being.
Read Also History Of South Africa
References:
https://viajesakenia.com/historia-kenia/
https://www.greelane.com/fr/sciences-humaines/histoire-et-culture/brief-history-of-kenya-44232/
https://yoair.com/fr/blog/the-history-of-kenya-past-embraces-present/
https://kenya.marcovasco.fr/guide-kenya/histoire-du-kenya.html
