Kenyan mau mau uprising documents released bbc news. It is a powerful, gripping, and sometimes shocking novel that presents an enlightening glimpse into the lives of all sections of the. This was first shown in attacks carried out in the latter half of 1952 by the banned secret society, mau mau, against kikuyu loyal to the government. Explain why the uprising was later repressed by the europeans. Mau mau and the discourses of decolonization cambridge core. From 1952 to 1960 a state of emergency was established, which was maintained with the full panoply of repression. The mau mau uprising originated in the 1950s among the kikuyu people of kenya, forcing its adherents to swear savage oaths which involved bestiality. When kenya got its independence in 1963, the existing laws continued to be in force. Pages in category mau mau uprising the following 18 pages are in this category, out of 18 total. They have been quite engaged and seemed to find it. Land a supposedly vacant land was taken over by the british settlers africans, especially the kikuyu who traditionally occupied the most.
Mau mau, militant african nationalist movement that originated in the 1950s among the kikuyu people of kenya. Africans were obliged by colonial law to offer labour on the plantation this was to be done forcefully with out offering any payments. The mau mau uprising began in 1952 as a reaction to inequalities and injustices in britishcontrolled kenya. Though free from british rule kenya is still plagued with post colonial challenges as exemplified by the story of wangari maathai. The mau mau and the nation state lund university publications. It involved a kikuyudominated anticolonial group called mau mau and elements of the british army, auxiliaries and antimau mau kikuyu. The response of the colonial command was a vicious elimination on the rebels, resulting in many deaths.
Liberations war in kenya aimed at attaining freedom for. A short overview of the mau mau rebellion against the british empire in kenya, which was brutally suppressed by the colonial administration. Opposition against british colonial rule in kenya culminated in the mau mau uprising, which began in 1952. The best books on the mau mau uprising and the fading empire recommended by adam foulds. This kind of new slavery inspired the occurrence of the mau mau rebellion. This tension had developed as a result of british white settlers taking large pieces of fertile land belonging to the kikuyu community and forcing them t. It involved kikuyudominated groups summarily called mau mau and elements of the british army, the local kenya regiment mostly consisting of the british, auxiliaries and antimau. Its loyalists advocated ultraviolent resistance to british control of the country. Condemned by history as a brutal ragtag force engaged in oathtaking, cannibalism and witchcraft, the military activities of. The mau mau uprising also known as the mau mau revolt, mau mau rebellion and the kenya emergency was a military conflict that took place in kenya between 1952 and 1960. Mau mau uprising download ebook pdf, epub, tuebl, mobi. The best books on the mau mau uprising interview with.
The main cause of mau mau revolt was the tension between kikuyu community and white settlers. Officially the number of mau mau and other rebels killed was 11,000, including 1,090 convicts hanged by. This is a 5lesson plan to teach students about the mau mau rebellion. The mau mau rebellion was a militant african nationalist movement active in kenya during the 1950s. Unlike most african nations, kenya came to in dependence as a result of armed conflict. If a date is to be placed on the beginning of mau mau, it should probably be 1944, when political leaders in the central. Africa general service medal with kenya clasp 21st. Strongly paramilitary in outlook, mau mau used secret ceremonies to enforce allegiance amongst its members and. British settlers, who came to kenya because of its resources and comfortable.
Kikuyu culture decolonizing kenya mau mau warrior oath. The mau mau uprising the mau mau uprising began in 1952 as a reaction to discrimination and injustices in the britishcontrolled kenya. Thousands of files from former british administrations are to be made public, including documents relating to the kenyan mau mau uprising. Maumau was an underground political uprising organized by the people of kenya against british. In the british colony of kenya, local kikuyu tribesmen formed a resistance group, calling themselves the kenya land and freedom army klfa. The mau mau uprising 19521960, also known as the mau mau rebellion, the kenya emergency, and the mau mau revolt, was a war in the british kenya. At the core of this anxiety lay the mau mau rebellion and the british governments attempts to. By 1956 the uprising had effectively been crushed, but the extent of opposition to the british regime had clearly been. Mau mau militants were guilty of numerous atrocities. The uprising grew out of anger over british colonial policies, but much of the fighting was between the kikuyu people, the largest ethnic group in. British novelist and poet adam foulds discusses fading empire in the context of kenya, including the horrors of british gulags, the mau mau uprising, and the social deprivation endured by the kikuyu. This kind of new slavery inspired the occurrence of the mau mau rebellion as the first violent revolt against the british after world war ii. The historiography of mau mau, this nationalist uprising of the 1950s in kenya, has broadened to include many aspects of this interesting time in kenyas history, from politics to peasants, and from economy of land to. The insurrection was known as the mau mau rebellion.
Another key reason for the break out of the mau mau rebellion in 1952 was the internal divisions within the kikuyu. During the early 1950s, resentment grew amongst the kikuyu tribe against european settlement and their lack of political representation. The mau mau rebellion took place in kenya from 1952 to 1960 and though the british and kenyan colonial governments succeeded in defeating the insurgency, it sowed the seeds for the eventual end of colonial rule and kenyan independence only three years after the mau mau. Mau mau uprising deaths and atrocities lari massacre. Its primary goal was the overthrowing british rule and removing european settlers from the country. Issues like the expulsion of kikuyu tenants from settler farms, loss of land to white settlers, poverty, and lack of true political representation for africans provided the impetus for the revolt.
The mau mau was a rebellion against colonialism and white supremacy in kenya, which started in 1952 and ended in1960. Detention, compulsory registration, livestock seizure, reeducation measures, and the capture and execution of the mau mau leader dedan kimathi. The political changes that took place after independence in 1963 had important. The maumau rebellion took place in kenya from 1952 to 1960 and though the british and kenyan colonial governments succeeded in defeating the insurgency, it sowed the seeds for the eventual end of colonial rule and kenyan independence only three years after the maumau. Bates unlike most african nations, kenya came to in dependence as a result of armed conflict. The mau mau movement was banned by the colonial government in 1950 through legal notice number 9 of 1950. The most notorious was their attack on the settlement of lari, on the night of 2526 march 1953, in which they herded kikuyu men, women and children into huts and set fire to them, hacking down with pangas anyone who attempted escape, before throwing them back in to the burning huts. I am not saying that it is brilliant but i have used it with year 9. The mau mau uprising, also known as the mau mau revolt, mau mau rebellion, or kenya emergency, was a military conflict that took place in british kenya between 1952 and 1960. The response of the colonial administration was a fierce crackdown on the rebels, resulting in many deaths. The mau mau uprising 1954 maumau was an underground political movement uprising organized by the people of kenya against colonial rule from 195160 under leaders such as jomo kenyata, dedan kimathi, waruhiu itote popularly known as general china and tom mboya etc.
British government, the white settlers and the mau mau. The mau mau rebellion was a midtwentieth century counterinsurgency campaign that pitted a modern and highly mobile army against a larger, but more poorly resourced and organized, indigenous insurrection. The historiography of mau mau, this nationalist uprising of the 1950s in kenya, has broadened to include many aspects of this interesting time in kenyas history. The mau mau uprising 1954 mau mau was an underground political movement uprising organized by the people of kenya against colonial rule from 195160 under leaders such as jomo kenyata, dedan kimathi, waruhiu itote popularly known as general china and tom mboya etc. Maumau was an underground political movement uprising organized by the people of kenya against colonial rule from 195160 under leaders such as jomo kenyata, dedan kimathi, waruhiu itote popularly known as general china and tom mboya etc.
Pdf on jan 1, 2010, melissa tully and others published alls well in the colony. Original introduction to candour supplement, 22nd july, 1960 warning. British counterinsurgency in colonial kenya, by maj william b. In the early 1950s, many parts of africa were looking to throw off the colonial rule of their european masters and seek independence. Mau mau uprising article about mau mau uprising by the. The mau mau uprising, also known as the mau mau revolt, mau mau rebellion or kenya emergency, was a military conflict that took place in kenya between 1952 and 1960. The number killed in the uprising is a subject of much controversy. The mau mau uprising 195260 remains a controversial conflict, waged by warriors about whom many myths have been formed, but little truth has been written. The mau mau uprising, a revolt against colonial rule in kenya, lasted from 1952 through 1960 and helped to hasten kenyas independence.
Pdf the shonandebele, maji maji and mau mau uprisings. At least 12,000 rebels were killed in the response to the mau mau uprising. Forced labour on white mans plantations led to mau mau. They were bound by oath to force the expulsion of white settlers from kenya. In 1968, kenyan parliament passed a societies act and regazetted the legal notice banning the. Pdf the unburied victims of kenyas mau mau rebellion. Kenyans still waiting for justice join class action over britains role in the emergency thousands of elderly people claim mistreatment, rape and torture by colonial forces. Condemned by history as a brutal ragtag force engaged in oathtaking, cannibalism and witchcraft, the military activities of the mau mau have long been overlooked. The mau mau uprising 19521960, also known as the mau mau rebellion, the kenya emergency, and the mau mau revolt, was a war in the british kenya colony 19201963 between the kenya land and freedom army klfa, also known as mau mau, and the british authorities dominated by the kikuyu people, meru people and embu people, the klfa also comprised units of kamba and maasai peoples who. Something of value is a novel based on events that took place in kenya colony during the violent mau mau insurrection of the 1950s, an uprising that was confined almost exclusively to members of the kikuyu tribe.
Resistance to colonization the mau mau uprising in kenya 195356 kenya was colonized by great britain between 1901 and 1960. It has been argued that there never was a single mau mau. Psychosocial effects of liberation war among freedom. Anderson and others published the unburied victims of kenyas mau mau rebellion find, read and cite all. The mau mau uprising also known as the mau mau revolt, mau mau rebellion movement was a military movement formed to fight white settlers to resolve the social injustices that place in 1940s. The rebellion officially got pronounced in 1952 with a force numbering around 30,000 abstract. The response of the colonial administration was a fierce. The failed rebellion that freed kenya a senior paper presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for graduation undergraduate history program of the university of washington tacoma by joshua scullin university of washington. This video is about the mau mau uprising by aaas 100 at michigan state university and is strictly for educational purposes. The maumau uprising 195260 remains a controversial conflict, waged by warriors about whom many myths have been formed, but little truth has been written. List of books and articles about mau mau uprising online.
1210 242 1278 1205 1002 1166 637 183 1360 697 1346 387 530 1471 1443 463 1406 89 1332 685 1581 669 950 1077 1602 50 578 56 578 618 1642 124 1544 187 1373 231 582 608 1241 272 181 441 1407 1334 33