Colonial Settlements in Kenya and Southern Rhodesia from 1900-1965 Thesis

Colonial Settlements in Kenya and Southern Rhodesia from 1900-1965 - Thesis Example Kenya During the periods of war the Imperial design adopted by British for Kenya proved to have a paralyzing effect between the opposing demands of ‘West coast’ and a ‘South African Policy’ which is referred to as â€Å"the conflicting requirements of peasants and settler political economy†. The late Nineteenth century imperialism as demonstrated by the British rule on Africa was the final sortie using which the capitalist system of the world occupied the last continent to remain partly beyond its pale. The system comprised of different types of production modes which were connected at the level of exchange and these all were dominated by the most advanced forms of capital.2 The scuttle for colonies in Africa reached its highest pitch in 1884 when Africa was decided to be partitioned after the Berlin conference among the European colonial rivals. The Brtish acquired the land which is known as Kenya today.3 As the railway project concluded, white settl ement was initiated in Kenya in the early 20th century led by Lord Delamere, Pugnacious a gentleman farmer from Cheshire, England. Lord Delamere was not familiar with the characteristics of the land- its pests and wildlife; hence he faced disasters in his initial ventures. But by 1912, Delamere along with his followers was able to earn a profit by starting mixed agricultural farms which made other Europeans follow suit. They relocated to the highlands near Nairobi. The process of colonization was interrupted by the World War I as two thirds of the 3000 white settlers in the region formed impromptu cavalry units and started searching the Germans in the neighboring places like Tanganyika. After the war was over the settlement process again resumed where the veterans were offered subsidized land in the highlands around Nairobi. The net effect of it was an increase in the white Kenyan population in the area. The population rose from 9000 in 1920 to 80000 in the 19504. The white settleme nt at the fertile region of Kenya ignited grievances among the natives of the land, which grew stronger day by day and in the year 1930 the Kikuyu people spearheaded demonstration against the British to reclaim Kenya under the leadership of Johnstone Kamau, who later came to be known as Jomo Kenyatta and eventually became the first president of Kenya. Initially Kenyatta joined the East Africa Association whose major campaigns were based on issues like land reform, better wages, education and medical facilities for the residents of the country. At the period of British rule it was obvious that these issues will be addressed but will be limited for the region where the Whites were settled and not for the natives. And in the all white legislative council it was difficult to make them hear the interest of the original resident of the land. Therefore Kenyatta soon joined a more forthright association, the Kikuyu Central Association which was eventually banned for its demonstration and ca mpaigns against the White rule. It was in 1929; Kenyatta set out for London with the help of the money supplied by the Indian communists to appeal the case of Kikuyu with the British Colonial Secretary. As can be