 HISTORY |
| THE CRADLE OF HUMANITY |
This is where WE started. The birthplace of humankind was discovered by Dr. Leaky and his wife in the Rift Valley, contradicting the theories that the beginning of the homosapiens was in East Asia, and radically altering the accepted theories on the origin of humans.
| ISLAMIC INFLUENCE |
Well known as the oldest traders, Muslims came to
East Africa to do what they knew best: commerce.
They sailed with their dhows from the Arabian peninsula
to settle on the Coast, on the virgin soil of what
is now known as Kenya. They eventually intermarried
with the Africans, resulting in relatively affluent
and Islamic-influenced towns acting as entrepots
for the crossing Indian Ocean trade. Still today,
Kenya's richest history can be felt in the coastal
towns. |
| PORTUGUESE INVADERS - 2 centuries of harsh rule |
It was the Portuguese who decided that they would back expeditions to this part of Africa, in the hopes that they would break the Ottoman Turks' grip on trade with the Far East. The rule of the Portuguese was a combination of economic exploitation and drive to convert the local population to Catholicism. Nevertheless, by 1720 their bitter hand was no longer felt, and their rule came to an end
| BRITISH COLONIALISM - 19th & 20th Centuries |
With the whole of Africa being combed by European explorers, Kenya wasn't going to escape the same fate as its neighbors. With internal strife, the British were able to negotiate with their "former" warrior enemies, the Maasai, a treaty and hence construct the Mombasa - Uganda railway through the heart of the Masaai grazing lands.
| INDEPENDENCE |
On December 12, 1963 Kenya finally became an independent state, free from British hands choosing Jomo Kenyatta as the first elected president. |
