Kenya where is it in africa

Efforts are under way to restore the endangered African elephant and black rhino populations, and an aggressive campaign has been waged against poachers. Kenya continues to struggle with many of the challenges that plague third world countries.

The life expectancy is under 64 years and infant death rate is 6. More than 2 million people 5. With all of these issues, Kenya continues to receive humanitarian aid from the West. Despite the challenges Kenya faces — many stemming from the days as a British colony — its people continue to forge ahead. The coastal areas are tropical, with monsoon winds. The lowlands are hot and mainly dry. The highlands are much cooler and have 4 seasons. The most significant issues are water pollution from urban and industrial wastes; degradation of water quality from increased use of pesticides and fertilisers; water hyacinth infestation in Lake Victoria; deforestation; soil erosion; desertification; and poaching.

Thornbush and grassland are characteristic of much of the country. Varied forest covers about 13, sq km of the south-west quarter, at , metres above sea level. The traders from overseas brought such items as clothes, beads, wines, iron weapons, porcelain and handicrafts. These were exchanged for ivory, timber, gold, copper, rhinoceros horns, animal skins and slaves.

On the first voyage his only negotiations were with the ruler of Malindi and, indeed, for the next hundred years this alliance was the foundation of the Portuguese network in the region. Their quest to control and dominate the lucrative Indian Ocean trade, the conquest of several city-states along the coast, and the establishment of their dominance, lasted years.

But their presence was hated and resisted and there were many insurrections against them. He killed the Portuguese Captain, Pedro Leitao de Gamboa, and then gave the signal to his followers outside the Fort to set fire to the Portuguese houses in the town. There was no marked resistance and in the course of the next two weeks all the Portuguese were killed. The Portuguese were finally kicked out of the Coastal towns through a combination of local nationalisms, aided by the Omani Arabs.

The scramble for colonies in Africa among European countries reached fever pitch in , when the Berlin Conference was convened to partition Africa amongst European colonial rivals. Among British acquisitions was the land we today call Kenya. The seventy years of colonial rule in Kenya were characterised by punitive economic, social and political policies. Most outstanding among these policies was racial discrimination.

Huge fertile land was alienated for white settlement, and harsh labour laws were enacted to force the Africans to work at low wages on settler farms and public works. In addition, African political participation was confined to local government. It was against this scenario that African protest movements began in earnest from the early s.

Several political associations, including the Young Kikuyu Association, East African Association, Young Kavirondo Association, North Kavirondo Central Association and Taita Hills Association, were formed to articulate African grievances against forced labour, low wages, heavy taxation, continuing land alienation, and racial discrimination.

Between and African political activity and pressure were intensified. And in the same year the first African, Eliud Mathu, was nominated to the settler dominated Legislative Council.

They help their families by working the land, tending cattle, cooking, or fetching water. Music and storytelling are important parts of Kenyan culture. For centuries, tribes throughout the country have used songs, stories, and poems to pass on their beliefs, history, and customs. Millions of people visit Kenya each year to see its endless savanna and the animals that inhabit it: elephants , lions , cheetahs , giraffes , zebras , hippos , rhinos , and more.

The Kenyan government has set up more than 50 reserves and parks to protect these animals. People seeking African wildlife usually focus on Kenya's lowland savannas. But Kenya's ecosystems also include deserts, swamps, mountain, and forests. Each region has its own mix of plants and animals that are suited to the area's particular conditions. Kenya's highland forests are home to many animals found nowhere else in the world.

Kenya was a colony of the United Kingdom from until Since its independence, it has been a republic, with a president, a national assembly, called the Bunge, and a judiciary. Kenya's location between the Indian Ocean and Lake Victoria means that people from all over Africa and the Middle East have traveled and traded across it for centuries.