White people in Kenya

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Kenyan European
Hugh Cholmondeley NPGx127531.jpg Christopher Froome TDF2012 (cropped).JPG George Adamson.jpg Idina Sackville.jpg
Lord Delamere · Chris Froome · George Adamson · Idina Sackville
Total population
67,000 (0.2% of population)
Kenya 35,000 Kenyan citizens
United Kingdom 32,000 British expatriates
Regions with significant populations
Nairobi Province, Rift Valley Province
Languages

English
Religion

Predominantly Christianity

Kenyan Europeans are those born in or resident in Kenya, who descend from Europe and/or identify themselves as white. There is currently a minor but relatively prominent community in Kenya, mainly descendants of British and Irish (mainly Anglo-Irish) settlers from the colonial era.

Contents

History [edit]

The Age of Discovery first led to European interaction with the region of present day Kenya. The coastal regions were seen as a valuable foothold in eastern trade routes, and Mombasa became a key port for ivory. The Portuguese established a presence in the region for three hundred years between 1498-1698, before losing control of the coast to the Sultans of Oman.

European exploration of the interior commenced in 1844 when two German missionaries, Johann Ludwig Krapf and Johannes Rebmann, ventured inland with the aim of spreading Christianity. The region soon sparked the imagination of other adventurers, and gradually their stories began to awaken their governments to the potential of area.

The rise of New Imperialism in the late 19th century, intensified European interest in the region. The initial driving force lay with pioneering businessmen, such as Carl Peters and William Mackinnon seeking to establish lucrative trade routes in the region. These businessmen would compel their respective governments to protect their trading interests, and in 1885 eastern Africa was carved-up between Britain, Germany and France. The British assumed control of the regions of Kenya and Uganda, and governed it through the Imperial British East Africa Company. In 1895, administration was transferred to the Foreign Office, and the East Africa Protectorate was established.

British East Africa [edit]

Having acquired Kenya and Uganda, the British sought to develop infrastructure and link the coast to Lake Victoria. The Uganda Railway serves as a lasting legacy of this ambition. The railway opened up much of the Kenyan interior to European settlement, and in 1899 British pioneers established Nairobi as a settler outpost. The period saw an influx of European settlers and farmers seeking to make a fortune, most notably the British peer Lord Delamere.

Life for Europeans in Kenya during this time would later be immortalised in Karen Blixen's novel Out of Africa. Kenya at the time was sparsely populated, and the few European colonists acquired vast plantation estates covering thousands of acres. The presence of herds of elephants and zebra, and other wild animals on these estates drew wealthy aristocracy from Europe and America, who came attracted by big game hunting.

During the 1920s, European settlement increasingly began to marginalise many of the local tribes. The 1920s saw the rise of African Nationalism, with leaders such as Jomo Kenyatta highlighting the unjust political and social situation for the vast majority of Kenyans. Following World War II, the unrest led to a violent uprising led by Kikuyu known as the 'Mau Mau' rebellion. The deaths of European settlers, led to an intense campaign by the British government to capture the rebels, and resulted in thousands of accused being held in notorious prison camps.

Independence [edit]

By the early 1960's, Britain’s political willingness to maintain Kenya as a colony was in decline and in 1962 the Lancaster House agreement set a date for Kenya’s independence. Realising minority rule like the Rhodesian and South African apartheid régimes were not possible after the Mau-Mau uprising, the majority of 60,000 white settlers looked for a way out.[1] Along with Kenyan Asians, Europeans were given the choice of retaining their British passports and suffering a diminution in rights, or acquiring new Kenyan passports. Few chose to acquire citizenship, and many Europeans left the country. The World Bank led a willing-buyer-willing-seller scheme, known as the 'million acre' scheme that was largely financed by secret British subsidies. The scheme saw the redistribution of swathes of European owned land to the newly prosperous Kikuyu elite.

The remaining small minority of Europeans have mostly taken Kenyan citizenship. There were an estimated 35,000 white Kenyan citizens in Kenya as of 2009.[2] There are also British expatriates who may be of any race; according to the BBC, they numbered at about 32,000 in 2006.[3]

Socioeconomics [edit]

Economically, virtually all Europeans in Kenya belong to the middle- and upper-middle-class. They formerly clustered in the country's highland region, the so-called 'White Highlands', where the Cholmondeley (Delamere) family, as one of the few remaining white landowners, still owns over 100,000 acres (400 km²) of farmland (mainly the vast Soysambu Estate) in the Rift Valley. Nowadays, only a small minority of them still are landowners (livestock and game ranchers, horticulturists and farmers), whereas the majority work in the tertiary sector: in finance, import, air transport, and hospitality.

Societal integration [edit]

Apart from isolated individuals such as anthropologist and conservationist Richard Leakey, F.R.S., who has retired, Kenyan white people have virtually completely retreated from Kenyan politics, and are no longer represented in public service and parastatals, from which the last remaining staff from colonial times retired in the 1970s.

The recent homicide case of the white Kenyan dairy and livestock farmer and game rancher The Hon. Thomas Cholmondeley, a descendant of British aristocrats, has brought into question the class bias of the judicial system of the Commonwealth country and the resentment of many Kenyans toward what is perceived as white privilege. The book and movie White Mischief told the tale slightly involving an earlier member of the Cholmondeley family, The 4th Baron Delamere (popularly known as Tom Delamere), who was married to Diana Broughton, whose lover was murdered in Nairobi in the 1940s. Her first husband was tried and acquitted. See also the Happy Valley set.[4]

Notable people [edit]

Lived/living in Kenya [edit]

Born or raised in Kenya [edit]

See also [edit]

References [edit]

  1. ^ http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2006/oct/26/kenya.chrismcgreal
  2. ^ http://www.knbs.or.ke/censusethnic.php
  3. ^ "Brits Abroad: Country-by-country", BBC News, 2006-12-11, retrieved 2009-07-20 
  4. ^ "Eight months for Kenya aristocrat", BBC News, 2009-05-14, retrieved 2009-07-20 


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