Kenya
is a country that I have been wanting to visit for many years and when
I finally got a chance in 2019, it did not disappoint. We stayed mostly
in resorts in the National Parks in the southern part of the country,
first visiting the Masai Mara National Reserve, then traveling to Lake
Nakuru and Lake Naivasha National Parks before finishing at Amboseli
National Park. While the animals did move north a month earlier than
normal, due to global warming, we did see lots of babies so there is
hope for populations as climate change accelerates. Kenya, does have a
lot of challenges with increased population and pollution, but there is
also hope that ecotourism can positively benefit the region by helping
the country preserve its parks, reserves, and the corridor many animals
use to migrate. |
Humans
have been in East Africa for well over 100,000 years. However, the most
recent native populations include a mix of native peoples, Cushite and
Nilotic people from North Africa and Bantu peoples from south and
central Africa. By the first century C.E. Arab traders were frequenting
the coastal areas of Kenya and it is their influence that helped create
the Swahili language, which is a mixture of Bantu and Arabic words. The
Portuguese first arrived in 1498 and they controlled trade until the
Omani Empire gained control in the 1600's. By the 1800's influence
shifted to the British who established Kenya as a British colony,
encouraging white settlement and prohibiting Africans from having a
voice in Parliament. Early into the 1900's a sentiment for independence
started to fester. This eventually cumulated into the Mau Mau Rebellion
and Kenya's independence from Britain in 1963. Jomo Kenyatta, who led
the Mau Mau Rebellion was elected the countries first leader, but
overtime, he became more of a dictator and Kenya became a one party
state. That continued until 1991. Currently the country is a democracy,
but it faces a lot of challenges moving forward.
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