The name Kenya is named after Mount Kenya, and its origin is the Kikuyu (Kere-Nyanga means "white mountains"). Today's Republic of Kenya was not a single country before it became a British colony at the end of 19. In this land, some Bantu languages brought iron culture 2000 years ago. Today, their largest tribes are Kikuyu, Xia Lu and Kamba, and they are still the main residents in the interior of Kenya. In addition, there are Nyroos languages from Sudan, and Luo people in the coastal area of Lake Victoria today (Kikuyu people are on the fertile land to the east; The Luan people are in their west, all the way to the Ugandan border); There are also Kalenjin and Masai people belonging to the Nile-hammett language family (Masai people are distributed from southern Kenya to northern and eastern Tanzania). The Kangba people once controlled the trade between the eastern coast and the inland of Kenya.
Until the end of 19, no national organization form has been found in the interior of Kenya. The local Kikuyu and Kamba are in the disintegration stage of the primitive commune, while the Masai and Turkana are still in the ruling stage of the primitive commune. Economically, Kikuyu and Xia Lu are mainly engaged in agriculture, while Masai and Turkana are nomadic peoples, while Luo and Kamba are semi-agricultural and semi-pastoral peoples.
After the 6th ~ 7th century, Arabs and Persians (Shiraz) began to settle here, which promoted the establishment of some towns, such as Mombasa, Malindi and Lamu. Larger towns gradually developed into city-states. Arabs are mixed with local residents, resulting in Swahili language and culture. At that time, a large number of goods exported by these city-states were ivory, rhinoceros horn, spices, iron and a small amount of gold, as well as slaves, while imported goods were cotton cloth, beads, fish, metal utensils and porcelain.
From 16 to 17 century, the Portuguese occupied the coastal strongholds in Kenya by force. /kloc-After the 0/8th century, Arabs ruled the East African coast and engaged in slave trade, which was banned by the Sultan of Zanzibar in the 1970s.
65438+ In the 1980s and 1990s, the conflicts between European powers for spheres of influence in East Africa intensified, and the competition between Britain and Germany became increasingly acute. At that time, Britain coveted Uganda's wealth and established a trade and missionary stronghold there, while Germany colonized Tanzania. In order to prevent Germany from controlling Uganda's road to the coastline and controlling fertile areas, Britain occupied many parts of Kenya today and began to encourage Europeans to emigrate. 1895, Britain declared Kenya as its "protectorate of East Africa". 1902, Britain incorporated the eastern province of Uganda into the "protectorate of East Africa" and renamed it "Kenya Colony" in 1920. 1895 From February to the end of 190 1 the British colonial authorities built the Mombasa-Kisumu Railway (formerly known as "Uganda Railway") with imported Indian laborers. Then Britain encouraged Europeans and South African whites to develop Kenyan highlands on both sides of the railway, monopolized fertile highlands suitable for developing agriculture and animal husbandry by legal means, covering an area of more than 65.438+million hectares, while Africans were squeezed into "protected areas" or became "landless" and "illegal occupiers" of white farms. Europeans gradually increased, from the initial 100 to 1960 6 1000. 1907 the European immigration legislative assembly was established (the election was held only in 19 19). 1925 established a local African legislative conference to attract African elites to participate.
From the beginning, the invasion of British colonists was resisted by all ethnic groups in Africa, especially the Kikuyu, who are the main residents of the "white highlands". The Youth Kikuyu Association was founded in 192 1, and began to put forward land claims in an organized way to protest against the taxation and labor laws during the colonial period. They were brutally suppressed. 1928 "Association" was reorganized and renamed "Kikuyu Central Association", with Lomo Kenyatta and johnstone Ngengi as general secretaries. Since 1929, he has been engaged in the pan-Africanism movement in Britain and Europe for a long time, and has close ties with nationalists in many African countries and enjoys a high reputation. The publication founded by "Central Association" is Unity, a monthly magazine of Juventus in Kikuk.
From 65438 to 0944, the "Kenya Unhuman Alliance" (KAU) was founded, which marked the beginning of a new chapter in Kenya's nationalist movement. The "alliance" is based on educated Africans. Their opinions are not too intense, but they demand that Africans get better land, especially the fertile "white highlands". This "alliance" is super-tribal, but Kikuyu people play a major role in it. James Gichuru, President of the Alliance. 1946 September, Kenyatta returned to Kenya. 1947 was elected chairman of the African Union in Kenya. By 195 1, AU has grown to 50 branches in China, with more than 654.38+million members. The colonial governor appointed eight Africans as members of Kenya's Legislative Assembly.
In the early 1950s, the He Miaomiao Movement broke out due to the increasingly acute land problem. The He Miaomiao Movement and its guerrilla "Land and Freedom Army" are in full swing. The colonial authorities declared a "state of emergency" in 1952, banned the AU in 1953, banned African political activities, and arrested Kenyatta and five other AU leaders. After three years of military repression, Dedan Kimathi, the main guerrilla of 1956, was arrested, and the He Miaomiao movement finally subsided. It is said that in the whole He Miaomiao movement, less than 50 European immigrants were killed, while more than 10000 Africans were killed, mainly Kikuyus, because both the most important He Miaomiao movement and government collaborators were Kikuyus.
Maomao was originally a secret gathering of Kikuyu people. Radical nationalists used this form to organize the masses, swear an alliance and punish the colonists and African chiefs who cooperated with them. The colonial authorities arrested Kenyatta and other leaders of the "African Union" and sentenced Kenyatta 10 to 0 years' imprisonment for manipulating the rebellion in He Miaomiao. In fact, Kenyatta didn't know much about He Miaomiao, and because of his conservatism, he was threatened by radicals in He Miaomiao. Kenyatta denied any involvement with He Miaomiao from beginning to end.
Under the pressure of the He Miaomiao Movement, the colonial authorities began to carry out some reforms in the mid-1950s: giving Africans more representation politically and carrying out some land reforms economically. 1955, the "Swinaton Plan" was implemented, which gave Africans more opportunities to acquire land than in the past and encouraged African farmers to grow cash crops. 1960 implemented the "land transfer plan" (also known as the "resettlement plan"), stipulating that the "white highland" originally monopolized by whites was open to Africans.
After the He Miaomiao Movement, nationalist movements spread to most parts of Kenya, especially Kikuyu and Luo communities. Kenyatta is the number one figure of Kikuyu people, while Luo people have produced two leaders, one is Tom Mboya who works in a trade union, and the other is Oginga Odinga, a representative figure of Luo people in Niassa province. He first demanded the release of Kenyatta. 1957, Mboya and other African leaders refused to accept the ministerial task appointed by the colonial authorities, and then demanded full democracy to eliminate the prejudice against white immigrants in the legislative assembly. The Kikuyu-Luo people's joint struggle finally forced the British government to agree to hold constitutional negotiations at Lancaster Palace in London in early 1960, allowing the establishment of political parties and allowing Africans to occupy a majority in the Legislative Assembly, thus paving the way for Kenya's independence.
Kenya African National Union (KANU) was proclaimed in March 1960. The National League elected Kenyatta as its chairman, and decided that before Kenyatta was released, Gichuru would be its chairman and Mboya would be its general secretary. Mboya, Odinga, Gichuru and others were the main members of the national alliance in this period. Representatives of other small tribes were skeptical about the combination of Kikuyu and Luo tribes, so in June of 1960, the "Kenya African Democratic Union" (KADU) was established, and Ngara was elected as its chairman. Daniel arap moi, the representative of the Kalenjin people, also left the National Alliance and joined the Democratic Alliance. Both the Democratic Alliance and the National Alliance demanded the release of Kenyatta and put forward land rights in Africa, but the National Alliance demanded the establishment of a strong centralized government, while the Democratic Alliance insisted on the establishment of a federal government, emphasizing the protection of the interests of small tribes and even delaying independence.
196 1 Kenya held a general election in February, and the National Alliance won a majority of seats in the Legislative Assembly, but they insisted on refusing to form a government before Kenyatta was released, so the Democratic Alliance and the minority parties formed a Coalition government. In August, Kenyatta was released. 10 In June, he became the chairman of the National League. 1 10 In June, he led a delegation of the National League to London, demanding Kenya's independence. 1962 1, Kenyatta was elected as a member of the Legislative Council and became the leader of the opposition party. 1962 In April, the National League and the Democratic League formed a coalition government, with Kenyatta as Minister of Constitutional Affairs and Economic Planning. 1In the general election in May 1963, the National Alliance won a total victory and Kenyatta became Prime Minister. 196365438+February 12, Kenya declared independence. 1964 1, the Democratic Alliance was dissolved, and all members including Ngala and Moi joined the National Alliance. 1964 12 Kenya became a republic, with Kenyatta as president and Odinga as vice president. 1In August, 978, Kenyatta passed away, and Moi succeeded as president.