Information on Kenya: Creating a Nation
Kenya’s history goes back to the dawn of humanity, and much of it is unknown. On the shores around Lake Turkana, fossil remains from the ancestors of Homo sapiens (modern day humans) have been discovered that are thought to become close to 2.5 million years old. Many scientists believe that all modern humans evolved from these ancient African hominoids.
The background of modern day Kenya was not recorded until the very first century, when Arab and Chinese traders visited the coastal villages to trade ironwork and cloth for ivory, cinnamon and slaves. By the 9th century, many Moslem Arabs had settled at Mombasa and Malindi. Inner Kenya remained largely unexplored till the end from the 19th century.
At that time, much more than 40 different tribes lived in the region, many of whom were fighting over land. Throughout the 1880s, the strongest tribe, the Masai, were severely weakened by civil war, famine, and smallpox and cholera epidemics. This made it fairly easy for the British to settle and colonize the area; by the 1950s, tribal unrest more than land disputes with the white settlers led to numerous violent clashes.
Kenya finally gained its independence in 1963, just after Jomo Kenyatta from the Kenyan African National Union (KANU) party was elected president. Since then, the economy has grown and the country has remained politically stable. However, in the early 1990s, some European countries withdrew aid and imposed trade restrictions in response to rumours of government corruption. These embargoes have because been lifted, and Kenya’s recently elected government appears to become trying to clamp down on corruption.
