At the turn of the twentieth century, Jewish leaders faced a desperate crisis. Pogroms in Eastern Europe and growing anti-Semitism convinced many that an urgent solution was needed to save persecuted Jews. In 1903, a surprising proposal emerged from the heart of British East Africa. Under the auspices of Colonial Secretary Joseph Chamberlain, an offer … Read more
The Turkana of northwestern Kenya developed a distinctive social and military culture long before encountering European colonizers. In The Scattering Time: Turkana Responses to Colonial Rule, John Lamphear (1992) draws on oral traditions and archival records to reconstruct how the Turkana navigated shifting power dynamics in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. By juxtaposing … Read more
Kenya’s colonial history was shaped by British imperial ambitions, economic exploitation, and African resistance. The British declared Kenya a protectorate in 1895 and later a colony in 1920. Over the next six decades, colonial policies deeply altered the country’s political, social, and economic structures. Land alienation, forced labor, and racial segregation became defining features of … Read more