Kenyan Independence Movement

Kenyan Independence Movement The East Africa Protectorate was first colonized by British settlers in 1895 and with the creation of the treaty of Versailles in 1920 it officially came under British control as the colony of Kenya. The people of Kenya were never content with having the white settlers take their land from them and continuously expressed their thoughts. However, Kenya wouldn’t become an independent nation until December 12, 1963. Kenya’s road to independence was filled with oppression and disappointment. There were many separate attempts to lead Kenya to freedom, but all of them failed to reach their goals. The Mau-Mau Rebellion was the final straw for colonialism in Kenya and the natives’ last push for independence. The exact numbers and details of the Kenyan independence movements are highly disputed due to the fact that not many official records of what was happening in Kenya were taken. Kenyans tried to gain freedom and publicity for their cause through peaceful political methods, but that ultimately fell apart do the incompatibility of the many tribes in Kenya, so they turned to violence to try to achieve their freedom. As time went on, and as the British continued to take advantage of their power, resentment just proceeded to build. Resentment first appeared when the white settlers tried to control the area. The main reason for British colonization of Kenya was for strategic purposes . If they controlled Kenya, they can control the source of the White Nile in Lake Victoria. Once the land was secured by the British more white settlers came in search of making a profit. The trouble starts when they start taking land away from the natives. White settlers forced native tribes off of their land and took all of the best farmlands for themselves. Out of all the different ethnicities in Kenya, the Kikuyu were the most effected by the land losses. By 1948, 1.25 million Kikuyu were left with 2000 square miles of land, whereas 30,000