When was name kenya first used

When the Portuguese arrived in , the Arab dominance on the coast was clipped, as the Port of Mombasa became an important resupply stop for ships bound for the Far East.

The Portuguese gave way in turn to Islamic control under the Imam of Oman in the s until another European influence came along, this time from the United Kingdom during the 19th century. The roots of the colonial history of Kenya go back to the Berlin Conference in , when East Africa was first divided into territories of influence by the European powers. The British Government founded the East African Protectorate in and soon after, opened the fertile highlands to white settlers.

Even before it was officially declared a British colony in , these settlers were allowed a voice in government, while the Africans and the Asians were banned from direct political participation until During this period thousands of Indians were brought into Kenya to work on building the Kenya Uganda Railway Line and subsequently settled there, whilst inviting many of their kith and kin who were mainly traders from India to join them.

In , members of the Kikuyu, Embu, Meru and Kamba tribes took an oath of unity and secrecy to fight for freedom from British rule. In , Jomo Kenyatta was charged with directing the Mau Mau and sentenced to 7 years imprisonment. Another freedom fighter Dedan Kimathi was arrested in for his role in the Mau Mau uprising as one of the leaders of the struggle for independence and was subsequently hanged by the colonialists.

Kenya was put under a state of emergency from October to December , due to the Mau Mau rebellion against British colonial rule and thousands of Kenyans were incarcerated in detention camps.

During this period, African participation in the political process increased rapidly and in all three races European, Asian and African were admitted into the Kenya Legislative Council on a representative basis. In , the first direct elections for Africans to the Legislative Council took place and those elected increased the people's agitation for Jomo Kenyatta's release from detention. In Kenyatta was released to become Kenya's first Prime Minister, when Kenya finally gained independence on December 12, The following year, Kenya became a Republic with Kenyatta as its first President.

In the same year Kenya joined the British Commonwealth. KPU was banned shortly thereafter and its leader arrested in and Kenya became a "de facto" single party state. In June , Kenya was officially declared a one party state by the National Assembly and the constitution was amended accordingly. The conflict in Europe affected Kenya, with many people from the local population drafted to assist British troops in overcoming German resistance in Tanzania.

Official British estimates claim that almost 24 Africans from the region died during this campaign, although others argue that the toll was much higher. The continued mistreatment of Kenyans by colonial oppressors stirred Kenyans to form a movement calling for greater political recognition of African rights.

The EAA was intended to be an organisation inclusive of all ethnic groups, although its members were predominantly Kikuyu, and as its name suggests, it was hoped that the EAA could represent all the people of East Africa, rather than just those in Kenya. This organisation focused predominately on demanding land access from White settlers and quickly gained membership, including Kenyatta, who was appointed its leader in These organisations were instrumental in politicising the disenfranchised Kenyan people, and the KAU played a key role during the Mau Mau uprising just a few years later.

The Mau Mau rebellion against British colonial rule, although militarily unsuccessful, was a defining episode in the Kenyan struggle for independence. Colonial domination of Kenya had existed for centuries, pursued by both the Portuguese and Omani Arabs before the British arrived, but the gradual push for decolonisation that occurred throughout Africa during the 20th century gave confidence to the movement to call for an independent Kenya.

The origins of the Mau Mau uprising began with a general discontentment with the conditions imposed by the British colonial regime. Hundreds of thousands of Kenyans lived in poor conditions in the slums around Nairobi, with few opportunities for employment, little chance of social or legal justice, and suffering from the effects of economic inflation raising the price of basic commodities. This state of affairs exacerbated pre-existing grievances stemming from earlier British actions in subjugating the local population and reallocating their valuable land to European settlers.

The Mau Mau was a loose grouping of predominantly Kikuyu Kenyans, who had been reduced to the status of squatters on their own land. Unhappy with their poor political progress in pursuing rights for Africans while under continuing pressure from the government and European settlers, they decided to engage in armed resistance against British rule.

In Mau Mau supporters began a campaign of violence against both Europeans and the Africans who co-operated with them. The British responded by ordering police to indiscriminately detain hundreds of KikuyuThis action heightened tensions and increased popular support for the Mau Mau.

The government responded by declaring a State of Emergency and sending troops to fight the uprising. Undertaking a policy of deporting Kikuyu to the reserves, many thousands of Africans were detained and transported away from their homes, whilst others were re-housed in villages under British control. Concentration camps were used to process the Kikuyu suspected of Mau Mau involvement, and abuse and torture were commonplace.

Simultaneously, British and loyalist forces moved through the forests, killing anyone suspected of Mau Mau involvement. British soldiers hold villagers at gunpoint whilst their homes are searched for evidence of cooperation with the Mau Mau Image source. Finally, in Kimathi was captured, effectively ending Mau Mau resistance. The military operations against the rebels resulted in many deaths.

The official government figure was 11 , although due to the nature of the fighting it can be presumed to be significantly higher. Despite the military defeat of the Mau Mau, their formation was a clear indication of the extent of popular support for independence within Kenya. In the British government held a conference in London to discuss the constitutional future of Kenya, and for the first time officially recognised the inevitability of independence under African majority rule.

He was sworn in as prime minister and declared Kenya to be finally free of British rule. A year later Kenya became a republic, with Kenyatta as the president, and KADU voluntarily dissolved to allow the creation of a strong one-party state. Jomo Kenyatta celebrates Kenyan independence at a ceremony attended by the Duke of Edinburgh Image source.

Kenyatta remained President for the rest of his life, and his government managed to maintain a reasonable level of political stability and economic prosperity for Kenya. The use of political repression and corruption to maintain power caused much opposition, including a coup attempt in This foreign pressure, combined with domestic opposition to the one-party system, resulted in multi-party democratic elections in and again in , with Moi securing a majority vote in both.

Multi-party politics have been present in Kenya since. In the general election was marred by widespread political and ethnic violence that left over a thousand dead.

The first Government of independent Kenya immediately had to deal with some pressing economic and political problems. The priorities were acceleration of growth, Kenyanisation of the economy and redistribution of incomes. None of this, however, could be achieved without political stability, and it was first felt necessary to neutralize those elements in the country who supported extreme policies and who were undermining, rather than building confidence in the new nation.

Thus, Kenya embarked on the road to peace and stability, which has made it possible for the country to realize great strides in development. The country has had three Presidents since independence. He retired on 30th December in line with a constitutional Provision which limits the Presidential term to a maximum 10 years of two 5 year sessions.

This provision took effect in following the re-introduction of multipartism. Previously kenya was a single party state. Kenya has played a leading role in the quest for peace and stability in the turbulent East African region, because of her stability and general neutrality.

The country has held regular elections every five years since independence. The December election which was largely hailed as peaceful paved the way for a smooth transfer of power. Kenya is bordered to the north by Sudan and Ethiopia, to the east by Somalia, to the west by Uganda, to the south by Tanzania, and to the southeast by the Indian Ocean. Much of the country, especially in the north and east, is arid or semi-arid. From the Indian Ocean the land rises gradually through dry bush to the fine arable land of the highlands.

Kenya covers an area of approximately , square kilometres and lies almost exactly astride the equator. In the low-lying districts, particularly along the coast, the climate is tropical, hot and humid.

On the Plateau and in the highlands the climate is more temperate. Western Kenya and most parts of Nyanza experience heavy conventional rain and have two rain seasons, the long rains from April to June and the short rains from October to November.

According to the national population and housing census report of , there are an estimated 38,, Kenyans dispersed around the country. In the semi arid north and northeast regions, population density hardly reaches 2 per sq km, whereas in the rich and fertile western, population density rises to persons per sq km.

In the well endowed Rift Valley, population density varies from one area to another with an average of 13 inhabitants per sq km. Women account for Nairobi is the capital city and a commercial center. It is situated miles from the Coast and lies midway between the capitals of Uganda and Tanzania.