About Kenya

Agriculture
Agriculture in Kenya is responsible for a large part of the income of Kenyans. However, only about 20% of the land in the entire country is usable for agriculture. This is due to the poor soils, low rainfall, and mountainous and fallow land. The main crops grown are tea, coffee, sisal and pyrethrum (for insect control). Of course, people also grow products for their own use, such as wheat, sugar cane, bananas, corn, barley, rice, beans, cotton and pineapple. For these products, however, exports are manageable. Around Lake Naivasha, roses are grown in huge plantations, which are also exported to Europe. This is because Kenya is responsible for a significant part of the European rose market. Above all, fattening and dairy cattle are dominant in the livestock industry. The large farms now have a considerable level of development. Here, the modernization of agriculture is progressing steadily. There are a large number of forests in Kenya that are protected. Therefore, bamboo forests are largely irrelevant to the paper industry. The Dakatcha tropical forest is very rich in species and was threatened in 2011 by plans to build a jatropha plantation by the Kenya Jatropha Energy company (to generate energy through agriculture). The plantation would also impact traditional agriculture, which is home to more than 20,000 smallholder farmers. For these reasons, the planning of the project was highly controversial from the beginning and the project was ultimately stopped. This development sheds light on how the country of Kenya is developing. This is because numerous interests must be taken into account for the further economic development of the East African country. These include the protection of biodiversity and nature as well as the livelihoods of the ordinary people in Kenya.

Tourism
Tourism plays an important role for the East African country. Kenya scores with foreign tourists with an impressive diversity. There are many different landscapes in Kenya, which are all characteristic for the continent. Beautiful coastal areas, vast savannahs, a long coral reef and big game animals characterize the country. In addition, there are snow peaks and a desert in the far west of the country. There are also the huge national parks where tourists can admire the African wildlife. Especially in the coastal regions there is also more and more mass tourism. European tourists can visit modern resorts here. But there are also areas in the interior for individual tourism, e.g. climbing Mount Kenya. In summary, it can be stated that the country of Kenya is suitable for any tourist purpose. Foreigners with different preferences get their money's worth when visiting Kenya. The number of tourists visiting the country in 2015 was close to 1,114,000 people. This brought in a total of approximately $824 million in 2016.
Music and dance

Early history until the arrival of the Portuguese around 1500
Based on current research, the indigenous Kenyan population included the hunter-gatherer group to which the Okiek, Sirikwa and Gumba belonged. The early history of Kenya is considered controversial. There are different views regarding the origin of Kenya. The first relevant grouping, the Cushitic-speaking peoples from northern Africa, migrated to what is now Kenya in about 2000 BC. They introduced animal husbandry, especially cattle breeding. In the year of the birth of Christ, new technologies were developed, such as iron processing. The technical progress in Kenya was driven in particular by Bantu and Nilotic peoples. An international trade network was established along the coast of Kenya. Roman and Arab traders regularly went in and out. Whether the inner areas of East Africa were also traveled is questionable. With the help of old world maps it could be proven that there were already large lakes and snow-covered mountains in East Africa at that time, although the exact location on the maps sometimes varied. At the turn of the second century, both small and large trading cities were established on the coast of Kenya. These took their cue from the Arab world and culture, which is why Islam spread there. The coastal areas belonged to the Swahili society, which is described as multicultural and multiethnic. Many mosques were built and magnificent houses, some cities even got their own coinage. Development continued to progress in Kenya.

1500 - 1900
The independence of the coastal region was significantly limited by the influence of the Portuguese from 1593 to 1698. Nevertheless, this did not change the ongoing migration from India, Arabia, the interior and many littoral areas of the Indian Ocean. In 1698, the territory of the Arab country of Oman was conquered. The native Mazrui clan was appointed administrator of the coast in 1730. This supported the development of Kenya's independence. Oman assumed increasing control over the Kenyan coast after the Arubi dynasty was overthrown by the Busaidi dynasty. Yet little was known about Kenya's inland culture. Swahili coastal traders traded ivory and slaves through middlemen. The rumor that the inland inhabitants were cruel and dangerous man-eaters spread throughout the coastal region. According to estimates, about 2.5 million people lived in Kenya around 1800. It was not until the mid-19th century that coastal traders began to travel into the interior of the country themselves. The reason for this was rising prices of ivory on the world market. This information comes from reports that provide information about Kenya before the colonial era. The Maasai, who conquered parts of East Africa in the 19th century and posed a threat to the coastal towns, were considered the main danger. For this reason, traders tried to avoid the areas that were under the influence of the Maasai. The caravans (which ranged from 300 to more than 1000 people) had a high demand for food for personnel carrying the goods (ivory, slaves and rubber). Contact with people outside the coastal region intensified through trade. Consequently, brass and copper wire, firearms, cloth and fabrics, for example, were sold. In addition, goods from Europe in particular were very popular in Kenya. Towards the end of the 19th century, the united kingdom began to further extend its strong influence and change the Kenya of the time.

Colonial History
In 1885, the colony of Kenya began with a German protectorate, which included the mainland coast of the Sultan of Zanzibar and the Sultan of Witu. In the following year, the German East African Society wanted to buy the territories on the coast of Kenya. In 1889, the German-speaking colonialist Carl Peters tried in vain to find a justification for the rights to Lake Tana and Baringo. Germany, meanwhile, secured for the British inhabitants all the territories north of Lake Tanga-Victoria. In 1888, the IBEA (Imperial British East Africa Company) already came to Kenya and was responsible for the administration of British East Africa until 1895. Along the caravan routes, the IBEA established individual stations, which were, however, only weakly manned. The transport route to the Buganda protectorate was initially to be secured while the railroad to Lake Victoria was still being built. The ivory and slave trade in the interior led to close contacts being maintained with the Europeans. The Maasai in particular supported the stations and obliged with a large number of auxiliary military.

Early colonial period
In 1895, the British took over the administration of the area and the overall situation in Kenya changed little. The Europeans had little influence on the areas around the few stations. With the construction of the railroad in Uganda from Mombasa to Lake Victoria in 1901 and the famine in 1899, the administration succeeded in enforcing colonial rule in popular and very fertile regions. There were numerous "punitive expeditions" between 1890 and 1914 that broke popular resistance to the colonial takeover in all parts of the country. But the resistance was multifaceted. The Kenyan tribes, along with their inferior weaponry, had little chance compared to the Europeans. As a result, resistance was broken very quickly. In the course of this, crops and villages were burned. The majority of the population was robbed of their livestock and deprived of their livelihood. There was an expropriation of the large fertile areas. These were declared "White Highlands" and leased or sold to white settlers. As a result, the African inhabitants (e.g., Girima, Nandi, Maasai and Kikuyu) were resettled and placed in reservations geographically limited for them, which they were only allowed to leave with permission. Since the administration was only weakly staffed by Europeans and otherwise run by local chiefs and auxiliary police, the regulation explained earlier was difficult to enforce. In 1905, about 600 white settlers were counted, two years later already 2000 white settlers. The growth number increased exponentially after the completion of the railroad, which facilitated the influx of Europeans. In Kenya, the Swahili language was called the language of the colonial oppressors because officials and their African employees articulated themselves with Swahili. In Tanganyika, in contrast, Swahili was seen as the language of coastal society and was widely used through caravan migration. This again shows that there were definitely significant differences within the East African country in terms of how the colonial powers were perceived.

The First World War
World War I had a lasting impact on Kenya's political development. East Africa became an active theater of war. Thousands of Africa's inhabitants were conscripted for military service in Kenya. About 150,000 of the 350,000 African soldiers who participated in the war against German East Africa had been conscripted in British East Africa (Kenya) and did not belong to the regular troops. The search for the soldiers in 1917 resembled a slave hunt. The men were herded into the barracks without first being able to say goodbye to their relatives. In total, about 50,000 people were declared dead. In the process, one in three of Kenya's war dead, but only about 4,300 of those people belonged to the armed groups. After the war, there was a worldwide influenza epidemic and thousands of victims also died in Kenya as a result of the disease. The traumatic experiences in the war had an impact on the African participants in the war and shaped the country of Kenya for a long time. The war had taught them that the rule of the British could be endless. The colonial powers were increasingly invented as a temporary condition that the Kenyan people wanted to change.

Expansion of the settler colony
The number of white settlers continued to increase, reaching 5438 before World War I. After that, there was a new wave of immigration. The main aim was to bring in high-ranking members of the British military. In 1921, there were almost twice as many white settlers living in Kenya, about a third of them living from agriculture alone. Kenya officially became a crown colony in 1920. The settlers in the colony took more and more influence in the administration. Gradually, the image of a South African Union determined by European and white settlers became widespread. They demanded more lands and the reduction of the reserves so that they could force Africans to work on their farms as cheap labor. Every African who reached the age of 16 was forced to register and wear his registration card on a ribbon around his neck. The chip also recorded the days worked. In addition, Africans had to pay very high taxes, so they were forced to offer themselves on the wage labor market.

Early anti-colonial resistance
The circumstances in Kenya led to great dissatisfaction with regard to the administrative system. The African chiefs, who were appointed by the colonial administration, and the African policemen ("tribal retainers") lived on bribes and corruption, as they were very poorly paid. This led to an arbitrary state of affairs in which the employees of the colonial power enriched themselves with impunity every time. They stole their land and livestock, leaving many people destitute.
In the early 1920s, political groups formed to try to stop the colonial administrative process and overthrow the government. The East African Association was formed in Nairobi. It consisted of Christian and Muslim Africans from different regions of Kenya as well as other parts of East Africa, such as Uganda. They demanded a reduction in taxes and wanted to abolish registration cards. To do this, they met in large meetings in Nairobi. Not only in big cities, but also in rural areas, Kenyans rebelled against the colonial administrative process. In the Kikuyu area, a similar organization was formed, the "Kikuyu Association," which made the same demands and went public with them aggressively. In the west of Kenya (in the Maseno mission center), there was the "Young Kavirono Association," which consisted of young, educated Africans. They also rebelled against the high tax burden, the humiliating government system and the expropriation of land for European settlers. The Kikuyu "Harry Thuku" served as a role model, traveling throughout the country and holding public meetings to transform people's frustration and discontent into political activity. Thuku was arrested in March 1922. As a result, an open confrontation occurred right at the Nairobi police station where Thuku was in custody. In the process, more than twenty protesting Africans were killed and Thuku was exiled to northern Kenya. Subsequently, political activity briefly declined. The intimidation tactics apparently succeeded. Shortly thereafter, the Kikuyu Central Association (KCA) was founded. KCA is a political party that was dominated by Kikuyu. It demanded tax cuts, the return of expropriated land and African representatives in the Legislative Council. African resistance received little attention and was never really taken seriously by those in charge. In contrast, demands by the Indian population in Kenya caused unrest among the administration. They demanded the right to vote, entry without restrictions and the abolition of racial boundaries. The European settlers responded with aggressive resistance. They banded together and planned a revolt to fight for an independent Kenya. The revolt never materialized, however, as a political compromise was reached. The Legislative Council now consisted of a total of 17 members, of which eleven were European, five Indian and one Arab. An apartheid policy toward Africans was agreed upon and enforced.

Mission and education
At the beginning of the 20th century, the development of missionary societies continued, numerous mission stations were opened, mainly in populous areas in Central America and the West. These were Protestant, Reformed, Catholic, Free Church, British, American, Italian or French, among others. People were now given the chance to acquire European education. Some of Kenya's well-known politicians were former mission students, e.g. the first president Jomo Kenyatta. The colonial government had committed itself to enabling all Africans to attend school. However, it was mainly the missions that advocated for this and set up appropriate educational programs. This led to conflict as the missions rebelled against cultural imperialism and sought independence. The high point was the great debate over the practice of circumcising girls and women in 1920, which the mission banned. As a result, several thousand Kikuyu turned their backs on the missions and founded independent institutions, such as schools and churches.

The colonial economy
Agriculture was not profitable enough, although the majority of white settlers financed their livelihood through it. Many farmers were able to profit from land speculation. The stolen land of the Africans was sold for knockdown prices and could thus be resold to settlers at a high price. A lot of money was lost on failed ideas such as the cultivation of sisal, rubber or cash crops, until the main crops of coffee and tea finally prevailed. Cereals such as corn and wheat made a large profit. This was especially true in 1920, when prices were rising rapidly worldwide. To eliminate African farmers as competitors, they were excluded from the export market. However, when world prices fell sharply, only extreme government subsidies prevented the collapse of the settler economy.

The Second World War
World War II led to a strong growth of the economy in Kenya. The economy was positive in the 1930s and 1940s. The white settlers were responsible for the food supply of Great Britain and received a fixed fee for this. The money accelerated the mechanization of agriculture, so that laborers were no longer needed on the farm. As a result, many settlers drove African laborers off their land onto reservations. This, in turn, caused land shortages to increase and the population to become increasingly frustrated. Nevertheless, the political influence of the settlers grew. After the war, the immigration of white settlers increased to 40,000, with the goal of achieving political independence from Britain and establishing an apartheid state that did not grant Africans rights or the opportunity for political expression.

Freedom Fight
In October 1952, a state of emergency was declared. The reason for this was the armed activities of the Mau Mau. Due to the land expropriations, the taxation, the exploitation of the African squatters and the exclusion of the African population in political and economic issues, radical groups formed and acted violently against white settlers and the government. The colonial government acted with severity and harshness. Countless African leaders were arrested, including Jomo Kenyatta, although he had no connection with the Mau Mau. The Mau Mau were persecuted, and about one million Kikuyu were placed in camps to prevent civilians from cooperating with the freedom fighters. In 1956, the Mau Mau were declared finally defeated. At the same time, numerous opposition groups formed. Strikes were organized by the trade unions and political parties tried to bring about reforms. All these interventions made it impossible to continue to keep Africans out of the decision-making processes. In 1963, Kenyatta was elected prime minister, and at the end of 1963, Kenya gained independence. Kenya was then able to join the Commonwealth of Nations.

History of women's suffrage
A legislative assembly was introduced in Kenya in 1907. White women got the right to vote in Kenya in 1919 (influenced by the right to vote in Great Britain). Men and women with Asian roots were given the right to vote in 1923, and dark-skinned people not until 1957. The prerequisite for them was property and education. African women were largely excluded. All in all, about 60 % of the population gained the right to vote. Only women of Arab origin were completely excluded from the right to vote, so they petitioned the colonial government to protest the exclusion. This action was crowned with success, so that Arab women were subsequently also allowed to vote. Universal suffrage for all people over the age of 18 was not introduced until independence on December 12, 1963. Three years later, the first woman (Phoebe Asoiyo) was elected to the national parliament.

Democratization 1992-2002
In the early 1990s, Moi gave the multiparty system a chance for the first time due to pressure from Western governments and the World Bank. A broad-based political opposition formed in Kenya ("Forum for the Restoration of Democracy," FORD). In 1991, the multi-party system was introduced by the Kenyan Parliament. Even before the elections at the end of 1992, the opposition was broken up and divided into ethnically diverse groups. This resulted in a narrow majority vote for Moi and his KANU. In subsequent elections, the newly formed opposition managed to push through the passage of a reform package and thus became involved in the electoral commission, government and media access for the first time. In August 1998, there was a major bombing followed by explosions at the U.S. embassies in Daressalum and in Nairobi, which claimed 212 lives and injured 4,000.

President Mwai Kibaki
The next president was Moi's former vice president, Mwai Kibaki, with the National Rainbow Coalition (NARC) and the New African Rainbow Coalition.Kibaki and his government, however, were considered highly controversial. In particular, the latter was criticized for not really changing anything (NARC was publicly rephrased to the slogan "Nothing (H)As Really Changed"). In November 2005, the people rejected the government's heavily modified draft constitution (Wako Draft) in a referendum. Corruption was also widespread during Kibaki's presidency. Although individual scandals were uncovered in 1990, such as the Goldenberg scandal and the Anglo-Leasing scandal, the perpetrators were neither prosecuted nor brought to justice.

President Uhuru Kenyatta
In 2013, Uhuru Kenyatta, son of Jomo Kenyatta, became Kenya's next president. Ten years earlier, he had lost the election to former President Kibaki. In 2010, charges of inciting unrest in the 2003 election arose, but the case was dropped in 2014 because there was insufficient evidence against Kenyatta. In 2017, the Standard Gauge Railway was built by a Chinese company and opened up the route from Mombasa to Nairobi. A few months later, Kenyatta won the presidential election against Raila Odinga for the second time. But it had to be repeated in October after an election was annulled. Odinga called for a boycott of the election out of anger. However, Kenyatta got about 98 % of the votes with a turnout of about 35 %, thus finally winning the presidential election.