Colonialism/Kenya DBQ

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How Did ColonialismAffect Kenya?

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A Document Based Question (DBQ)World History

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Hook Exercise Unit VIII

How Did Colonialism Affect Kenya?

Clarifying Personal Responses

Change in K Town

You live in an old working-class part of the city called K Town. You have a loving family — father,mother, three kid brothers and sisters. You were born in the house you live in and most of the neigh-bors have been around for years. Your family owns the home. It has been hard for your parents to makeends meet, but you're getting by. There is some gang activity in the community, especially over onKeeler beyond the park, so you pretty much stay in at night.

Your dad comes home from his landscaping business in Poshdale. He's heard some bigshot developeris buying up most of K Town. Many of your friends and neighbors rent, so it would be hard to stoptheir landlords from selling. The old church, the old YMCA, the local grocerias are all likely to be torndown. Your dad says that in two years K Town is going to be fancy houses, high-rise condos and asupermall with a waterpark and cinema complex. They call it gentrification. The developer is promis-ing some new affordable housing over by the tracks to the old residents. You will still be in the sameschool district if you move to the new housing.

Next Tuesday there's going to be a block meeting at Maria's Nueva Leone restaurant. Your dad sayssome neighbors want to stop the development. He also says the whole family is going to the meeting.

What will you say at the meeting? To get ready, write down some of the pros and the cons of theproposed gentrification. Be ready to discuss your thinking.

Pros Cons

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Colonialism/Kenya DBO2 of 12

STUDENT GUIDE SHEET

How Did Colonialism Affect Kenya?

Directions: In the late ]9th century the British were the world's biggest colonizer.As the saying goes, the sun never set on the British Empire. If it was nighttime inBritish Bermuda it was daylight in British India , or British Zanzibar, or BritishCeylon. The question before you is what kind of an impact did thus British presencehave on the people Britain controlled.

It is suggested that you follow these steps:1. Read the Background Essay.

2. SkJm through the documents to get a sense of what they are about.

3. Read the documents slowly. In the margin or on a Document Analysis

Sheet

record the main idea of each document.

4. Organize the documents by analytical category. The first few may be

context documents. Other categories might deal with classic analytical

divisions like-government, religion, or economics.

5. Within each category, gather information and develop opinions about the

effect of colonialism on the people of Kenya.

6. Develop a summary answer to the question.

The Documents:

Document 1: Tabula Rasa

Document 2: Africa, 1900: Selected Ethnic Groups (map)

Document 3: A Kjkuyu Chief Speaks About Pink Cheeks

Document 4: Some African Acceptance of Colonial Rule

Document 5: Kenya's New Leaders

Document 6: Religion Among the Kenyans

Document 7: Abaluyia Creation Story

Document 8: Religion in Kenya, 1962 and 2002 (chart)

Document 9: The Missionary School Teacher

Document 10: Education in the Kenya Colony, 1955 (chart)

Document 1 ]: Roads, Railroads, and Postal Service in Colonial Kenya (maps)

Document 12: Average Earnings in Kenya, 1946-1955 (chart)

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Colonialism/Kenya DBO3 of 12

How Did Colonialism Affect Kenya?

Introduction

Whai happens to people's lives when theircountry is a colony of another country? Thiswas an important question to Americans in theeighteenth century when they were ruled byGreat Britain, and it is an important questiontoday when countries find themselves controlledby more powerful outsiders. By looking atKenya's experience as a colony of Great Britain,you can get an idea of what being colonizedmeant both to the people being controlled and to

those who control them.

Colonialism occurs when one nation takescontrol of another. By 1800 Europeans hadcolonized about 55% of the earth's surface; in1878, 67%; and by 1914 about 85%. Colonialismdirectly affecteti the great majority of the earth'spopulalion for well over a century, and theeffects remained even after colonial rulers gaveup control.

Historians disagree on what those effectswere. In one respected history of England byWaller Hall and Robert Albion, we read that"... On its good side this rule of the whiteminority meant order, efficiency, discipline, andcomparative peace." But another historian, BasilDavidson, writes: "What the central consequenceof colonial rule proved to be was not the modernreconstruction of Africa, but the far-reachingdismantlement and ruin of the societies and

structures whjch the invaders had found." Ourdocuments will tell you what Africans, as well,thought about their country being a colony.

Scottish missionaryDavid Livingston

discoversVictoria Falls

England andGermanyrivals in

East Africa

Though each colonized country was different insome ways, there are some things that seemedto happen in them all. The s tudy of Kenya'shistory as a colony will help you see howcolonialism works and thus understand animportant part of the human story.

The Scramble for Africa

The story begins in the nineteenth century.As strange as it seems, the African nation ofKenya was created by Europeans. I ts boundarieswere drawn about four thousand miles to thenorthwest in Berlin, Germany. Representativesof fourteen European nations met in 1 884 and1885 to carve up the African continent . NoAfricans attended the Berlin Conference. Allof Africa was placed under European controlexcept Liberia and Ethiopia. Seven countries weregiven the right to "own" a particular territory. Thistakeover left most Africans under European rulefor the next eighty years. Enslavement ofAfricans by Europeans ended after the agreementmade at Berlin, but indigenous Africans soonfound themselves controlled by outsiders indifferent ways'.

Great Britain already had colonies aroundthe world when the Berlin Conference met.They bragged that "the sun never sets on theBritish Empire." What Britain wanted from

Africa were raw materials such as wool, copper,and tin to supply their factories; cash crops suchas tea, coffee, and cocoa to fill their cups; anddiamonds and gold to decorate themselves. Inaddition, they wanted new markets in which to

Suez Canalcompleted

Berlin Conferencecarves up Africa into

European colonies

Birth ofJomo Kenyatta,

first Kenyanpresident Rudyard Kipling

Kenyanindependence

writes "The WhiteMan's Burden"

1855

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1869 c.1875 1884 1893

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1899 1963

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sell their products. What they felt they gave toAfricans was the Christian religion, a "superior"form of government, and what they consrdered amore developed civil ization.

The People of Kenya

The territory that became the British colonyof Kenya contained withun its borders at leasttwenty-seven ethnic groups with different cul-tures . I t did not begin like England and Spain,for example, wheremost of the peopleshared the samelanguage and culture.All Africans did notfee] the same wayabout the Britishsettlers. Those whomade their Jivingfrom farming wereangry because theirland was being takenfrom them. On theother hand, groupswho did not getalong with theirneighbors oftenwanted the help ofthe powerful Britishagainst their enemies.

Government of theKenya Colony

Before WorldWar 1, Kenya wasruled from Britain bya legislative council.This group washelped by Kenyan headmen, or chiefs, who hadsome control over local government. Appointedby the British, these African leaders acted asboth rulers of a local area and go-betweens withthe British. Sometimes this person had therespect of his people - a true "headman." Inmany cases the chief was not a real chief amonghis people and was thought of as a puppet of thecolonial rulers. During World War ] thousands

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of Africans served the British government inWorld War ], mostly as "carriers" rather thansoldiers, but they still suffered around 50,000casualties.

After the war, Kenya became harder to rule.Led by Harry Thuku, a clerk in the Treasury,African Kenyans began to organize and protestBritish practices. First, there was the "kipande"- a pass carried in a small metal container

which usually hungfrom the owner'sneck on a piece ofstring. Not carriedby whites, the pass

reminded Africansthat they were con-sidered second classcitizens. Then therewas the "hut tax," anannual paymentmade by eachAfrican household.The British felt thatthe Africans benefit-ed from reads andschools that werebuilt, so it seemedlogical that theyshould help pay forthem. This tax wasraised shortly afterthe war at a timewhen wages werebeing cut. Added tothese problems was

the hardship broughton by a terrible

influenza epidemic in 1919 and the constant lossof African lands to Europeans. Adding to thetension, Thuku was "detained" by the govern-ment for nine years.

Because of protests by Africans, in 1923 theBritish said that in the future, African needswould come before white settlers' desires. In]925 "local native councils" were created to

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give Africans a pan in the rule of Kenya. Tosome people thus seemed to be a step towardself-rule for Africans, but others saw it as a way10 use more educated Africans to keep protest-ing Afr icans under control. Thuku 's followerswanted to get their lands back and have moredevelopment in Kenya. Cooperation broke downwhen the Kenyans defended the t radi t ion offemale circumcision agains t protests ofChristian missionaries. During the GreatDepression of the 1930s, the British governmentreturned to the policy of supporting the whjtesettler fanners. More African farmers lost theirland and either became "squatters" or moved tothe cities. At this time a new leader appeared,Jomo Kenyatta,. Born Kamau Ngengi, Kenyattastarted out as an employee of the Nairobi WaterDepartment and later spent years in Londonarguing for change in Kenya.

World War I] slowed the movemenLforchange in Kenya, but it also* set forces in motionthat would eventually lead to the end of Britishrule. Africans served Britain again but this timeas armed soldiers. Many fought outside ofKenya in India. These soldiers witnessedEuropeans fighting and kjlling one another andno longer stood in awe of European power.When they learned that the war was beingfought to preserve liberty and democracy aroundthe world, they could not help but question lifein Kenya under colonial rule.

The "Emergency" and Independence

After the war Kenyans directly challengedthe idea that Kenya should remain "white man'scountry." The Kenya African Union (KAU) wasformed and Kenyatta became its president. TheUnion demanded that settlers' lands be returnedto Africans. A group of anti-colonial Africanscalled the Mau Mau went further. They wanteda total break from the British colonial system.AJthough Kenyatta denied the charge, theBritish believed that he was also the head of theMau Mau organization. He was arrested onOctober 29, 1952, and a violent rebellionagainst British rule began, led by the Mau Mau

fighters. The Brit ish called it "The Emergency."They saw it as a threat to both Bri t ish rule andthe survival of white people in Kenya.

The four-year struggle for Kenya 's indepen-dence was a bloody one. The British said thatthe Mau Maus were savage and primitive fighterswho attacked innocent people on their farms andin their homes. For their part the British usedharsh measures to defeat the mainly KikuyuMau Mau and the other ethnic groups whojoined them. The Kenyans saw themselves asfreedom fighters seeking independence fromunfair colonial rule. To them violence wasnecessary. The struggle was also a civil war.The Mau Mau considered Africans who benefitedfrom and supported British rule to be pan ofthe enemy.

Though the British won the war, theirgovernment, in 1958, gave up the idea of Kenya

..as a "white man.'s country" and began preparingfor African majority rule. The cost of crushingrebellion was more than any benefit they couldhave gotten out of the colony. In 1960 Africanswere given a majority on the LegislativeCouncil, and elections were held in February,196]. Jomo Kenyatta's party won with the sloganUhura na Kenyafta - "Independence withKenyatta" - and Kenyatta was releasedfrom jail. By 1963 colonial rule ended, andJomo Kenyatta became the president of anindependent Kenya.

The Question

What happened to the lives of both theAfrican Kenyans and the Europeans who colo-nized their land during the colonial era? Theanswer to that question will help the student ofhistory understand other situations, both pastand present, in which one nation attempts todominate the life of another. Read through thedocuments that follow. Organize them into ana-lytical categories and develop an answer to thequestion: How did colonialism affeci Kenya?

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Understanding the Question and Pre-Bucketing

1, What is the analytical question asked by this Mini-Q?

2, What terms in the question need to be defined?

3, Rewrite the question in your own words.

Pre-Bucketing

Directions: Using any clues fmm the Mini-Q question and the document liliesqjBVMP^guess the analytical categories and label the buckets. It does not matter that inthis Mini-Q you will be writing a speech. The bucket format still works.

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Document 1 ^^ Notes

Source: Sn Charles Elliot, The East Alnca Protectorate, London: Edward Arnold, 1905.

We have in Lost Africa ihe rare experience of dealing with atabula rasa, an almost untouched and sparsely inhabited couniry,where we can do as we will, regulate immigration, and open orclose the door as seems best.

Doc 1: What is a tabula rasa?

What does Sir Charles Ebot's quote say about how he regards East African people'

Document Letter or Number . Source __ . ___ Authoi.

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Msm idea o) document:

Key quote, irnage, of data:

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Document 2

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Africa, 1900Selected Ethnic Groups

39. Malua40 MahnVf41 Manding42 Ma13. Ma»)

Mbondu15 MbuD (Pygmies)46 Mcndf47. Mongo48 Mossi59 Ndebelf50- Nun51 . Nupj52S3. Nyom54 Oomo55 Ovunbundu56. Pendr57. Senu>o58 Shona59. Somaji60 Songyf61 SoninVf61 Sotho63 SuVuma64- Swazj65 Tig,f66. Tiv67- Tonga

6970 Turu71 Wold7173. >ao74. Voruba75 Zulu

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Doc 2: Does the map support or refute the idea that East Africa was a tabula rasa? Supply detail in yourexplanation.

Name five Kenyan ethnic groups that appear in the inset man.

Source: Richaid Si Barbe Baker, Kabongo: The Story ot a Kikuyu Chiet, OxtordGeoige Ronald, 1955, pp. 109-110

Document Note: This is the English translation ot an interview conducted in Kikuyu with Chief Kabongo. Theinterview was conducted by Muthungu wa Miti, and then rendered into English by Richard StBarbe Baker. Chiel Kabongo lived from about 1870 to 1950.

]t was in these days tha t a Pink Cheek man came one day 10 our Council. He camefrom far away, from where many of these people lived in houses made of sione and wherethey held their own Council.

He sat in our midst and he told us of the king of the Pink Cheeks, who was a greatKJflg and lived in a Jand over the seas.

"This great king is now your king," he said. "And this land is all his land, though hehas said you may hve on it as you are his people and he is your father and you are his sons."

This was strange news. For thus land was ours. We had bought our Jand with cattJe in

ihe presence of the Elders and had taken the oath and it was our own. We had no Jong, weelected our Councils and they made our laws. A strange Jang could not be our Jang and ourJand was our own. We had had no battJe, no one had fought us to take away our Jand as, inthe past, had-sometimes been. This Jand we-had had from our fathe/s and our fathers' father,who had bought it. How then could it belong to thus king?

With patience, our Jeading Elder tried to tell this to the Pink Cheek and he listened.But at the end he said, "This we know. But in spite of this, what J have told you is a fact . Youhave now a king - a good and great king who Joves his peopJe. and you are among his peo-ple. In the town called Narrobi is a council or government that acts for the king. And Jus lawsare your Jaws."

Doc 3: Who was Kabongo? Who were the "Pink Cheeks"?

According to Kabongo, what kind of government existed among his peopJe before the PinkCheeks arrived?

Wha, fom of goveramen,

Document Letter or Numbei Source Author

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Main idea oi document:

Kpy quote, image, or data:

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