PRECOLONIAL
KENYA
KENYA
This ancient trading settlement on Kenya's coast is one of the most important archaeological sites for understanding medieval Swahili civilisation.
Gedi
This colonial policy encouraged European settlers to acquire large areas of land in Kenya's fertile central highlands.
Creation of the White Highlands /settler land policy
Kenya achieved independence from British colonial rule on this date. (date, month year)
12 December 1963
Who became Kenya's first Prime Minister in 1963 and first President in 1964?
Jomo Kenyatta
This was the name of Kenya's dominant single political party after KANU effectively became the country's sole legal political party in 1982.
KANU — Kenya African National Union
Before colonial rule, long-distance trade routes connecting the Kenyan coast to the interior were pioneered and dominated by traders from which prominent Kenyan community?
Akamba
This Kenyan resistance leader was executed by the British in 1905 and was beheaded and his head was taken to Britain
Koitalel Arap Samoei
This organisation, founded in 1944, became the principal nationalist political movement that eventually led Kenya to independence.
Kenya African Union (KAU)
This Kenyan politician and former Vice President was assassinated in 1965, becoming one of independent Kenya's most significant political murders.
Tom Mboya
This crisis followed a disputed presidential election and resulted in a power-sharing agreement between Mwai Kibaki and Raila Odinga.
The 2007–2008 Post-Election Violence / National Accord
The Swahili city-states of the East African coast developed within a trading network connecting East Africa to Arabia, Persia, India and beyond. What ocean was at the centre of this network?
The Indian Ocean
Which colonial-era railway town became the headquarters of the British colonial administration in Kenya and was named after the Duke of York?
Nairobi
This 1952–1960 armed uprising against British colonial rule is commonly known by this name.
The Mau Mau Uprising / Kenya Emergency
This 1982 attempted coup against President Daniel arap Moi's government was initiated by members of which branch of Kenya's armed forces?
The Kenya Air Force
At the 1968 Mexico City Olympics, this legendary track athlete won Kenya's first-ever Olympic gold medal in the 10,000 meters.
Kipchoge Keino
This ancient settlement on the Kenyan coast was part of the wider Swahili trading civilisation and is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Lamu Old Town
In 1952, the British colonial administration declared a State of Emergency in Kenya to suppress the Mau Mau uprising. Which British Governor signed this declaration?
Sir Evelyn Baring
Before becoming Kenya's first president, Jomo Kenyatta was imprisoned at this remote location after being convicted of involvement with the Mau Mau movement.
Lodwar
This 1990 murder of a prominent Kenyan foreign minister became a major political controversy and contributed to growing pressure for political reform.
The Robert Ouko assassination
Written in prison following his arrest over the play I Will Marry When I Want, the 1981 novel Devil on the Cross was originally written on toilet paper by this renowned Kenyan author.
Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o
The Giriama, Digo, Duruma and other Mijikenda communities trace their origins to fortified settlements known collectively by what name?
Kaya
Which 1902 legislation formally opened large areas of Kenya's highlands to European settlement by allowing land leases of up to 99 years?
The Crown Lands Ordinance
At which conference in London was the constitutional framework for Kenya's independence negotiated in 1960–1963?
The Lancaster House Conferences
Who served as Kenya's first African Chief Justice and was later assassinated in 1965?
Justice R. B. Kitto
This 2010 event fundamentally changed Kenya's political and administrative structure by replacing the previous provincial system with 47 counties.
The promulgation of the 2010 Constitution