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
Origins, Impact, and Resistance — A Complete History British colonial rule in Kenya lasted 68 years — from the declaration of the East Africa Protectorate in 1895 to independence on 12 December 1963. In that time, the colonial state dismantled pre-existing land systems, imposed forced labour, built a racially segregated economy, and generated resistance movements … Read more