British Kenya

Main article: History of Kenya
Colony of Kenya and Protectorate of Kenya

1920[1]–1963


Flag of the Colony of Kenya

Anthem
"God save the King/Queen"
Capital Nairobi
Languages English
Government Colonial administration
Monarch
 -  1920–1936 George V
 - 1936 Edward VIII
 - 1936–1952 George VI
 - 1952–1963 Elizabeth II
Commissioner or Governor
 - 1920–1922 (first) Maj-Gen Sir Edward Northey
 - 1937–1939 ACM Sir Robert Brooke-Popham
 - 1963 (last) Malcolm John MacDonald
Historical era 20th century
 -  Established 11 June 1920 (Colony) 13 August 1920 (Protectorate) 1920[2]
 -  Independent as Kenya
12 December 1963
Currency East African shilling

Kenya was the name given to describe two former jurisdictions, the Colony of Kenya and the Protectorate of Kenya, which were both administered as parts of the British Empire. It comprised mostly the territory of present-day Kenya. Although they were two separate jurisdictions, the Colony and the Protectorate were administered as one unit.

The Colony of Kenya was established on 11 June 1920 when the territories of the former East Africa Protectorate except those parts of that Protectorate over which His Majesty the Sultan of Zanzibar had sovereignty were annexed by the United Kingdom.[3] The Kenya Protectorate was established on 13 August 1920 when the territories of the former East Africa Protectorate which were not annexed by the United Kingdom were established as a British Protectorate.[4] The Protectorate of Kenya was governed as part of the Colony of Kenya by virtue of an agreement between the United Kingdom and the Sultan dated 14 December 1895.[5][6][7]

In summary, the "Colony of Kenya" referred to the interior lands. The "Protectorate of Kenya" was a ten-mile coastal strip together with certain islands which remained under the sovereignty of the Sultan of Zanzibar until the independence of Kenya.

The Colony and the Protectorate each came to an end on 12 December 1963. The United Kingdom ceded sovereignty over the Colony of Kenya and, under an agreement dated 8 October 1963, the Sultan agreed that simultaneous with independence for Kenya, the Sultan would cease to have sovereignty over the Protectorate of Kenya.[8] In this way, Kenya became an independent country under the Kenya Independence Act 1963. Exactly 12 months later on 12 December 1964, Kenya became a republic under the name "Republic of Kenya".[9]

Mombasa, the largest city in 1921, had a population of 32,000 at that time.

Indians in the Kenya Colony[10] objected to the reservation of the Highlands for Europeans, and bitterness grew between the Indians and the Europeans. The population in 1921 was estimated at 2,376,000, of whom 9,651 were Europeans, 22,822 Indians, and 10,102 Arabs .

References

  1. Kenya Protectorate Order in Council, 1920 and dated 13 August 1920
  2. Kenya Protectorate Order in Council, 1920 and dated 13 August 1920
  3. Kenya (Annexation) Order in Council, 1920 and dated 11 June 1920
  4. Kenya Protectorate Order in Council, 1920 and dated 13 August 1920
  5. Kenya Protectorate Order in Council, 1920, S.R.O. 1920 No. 2343 & S.I. Rev. VIII, 258, State Pp., Vol. 87, p.968.
  6. "Commonwealth and Colonial Law" by Kenneth Roberts-Wray, London, Stevens, 1966. P. 762
  7. Annexation Order&f=false Kenya Gazette 7 Sep 1921
  8. "Commonwealth and Colonial Law" by Kenneth Roberts-Wray, London, Stevens, 1966. P. 762
  9. "Commonwealth and Colonial Law" by Kenneth Roberts-Wray, London, Stevens, 1966. P. 762
  10. Lonsdale, John (2008). "Britannia's Mau Mau". In Louis, William Roger. Penultimate Adventures with Britannia: Personalities, Politics and Culture in Britain. London: I. B. Tauris & Co. ISBN 9781845117115. OCLC 176926030. Retrieved 6 May 2014.

External links