British East Africa
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
called since July 5, 1920, Kenya Colony, a territory of East Africa, between the former German East Africa and the Italian protectorate of Somaliland; area, over 1,000,000 square miles; pop. estimated at between 2,000,000 000,000 and 3,000,000. The coast extends from Wanga, 4° 40' S. lat., to the mouth of the Juba river, 0° 15' S. lat. The S. boundary line runs to a point, on 1° S. lat. on Lake Victoria Nyanza, and continues on that ., when it turns parallel to 30° E. long Kordofan, including N. to Darfur and territory contains these countries. The Nile and the the valley of the Upper of Equatorial mountainous region Africa, in which are the high mountains Ruwenzori. The of Kenia, Elgon, and Bantu tribes, inhabitants comprise among which are the Waganda and tribes, Swa- Wangoro, Musai and Galla , and negroes on the hili on the coast rubber, sesame Nile. Ivory, gum, India , maize, rice seeds, cocoanuts, copra, coir . The governand hides are exported in the British ment is principally vested Company, which was East Africa founded in 1888, with a royal charter, but in 1894 UGANDA (q. v.), N. of Vica separate Brittoria Nyanza, was made received a separate ish protectorate, and DARFUR (q. v.) and administration. KORDOFAN (q. v.) were merely in the sphere of British influence, by agreeand Italy. The Britment with Germany ish East Africa Company is rapidly up the country, constructing opening roads and telegraphs, and taking steps slavery and the slave trade. to suppress is at Mom- The seat of administration coast is unhealthy for BASA (q. v.). The most of the interior pla- Europeans, but Consult teaus are salubrious. onsult Playne's British East Africa" (1910). "
What Has Changed in the Last Century
When Collier's wrote in 1921 the territory had just been renamed Kenya Colony (July 1920) and was counted at two to three million people; independent Kenya was proclaimed on 12 December 1963 under Jomo Kenyatta, and now holds well over 50 million. The colonial map the entry describes has been wholly redrawn: Uganda, the "separate British protectorate" of 1894, became independent in 1962, and "former German East Africa" to the south became Tanganyika and then, with Zanzibar, Tanzania in 1964. The Imperial British East Africa Company, which the entry says held the government, had in fact already surrendered its charter in the 1890s, and the railway it was pushing inland from Mombasa still runs, though a Chinese-built standard-gauge line opened alongside it in 2017. The entry's stated area of "over 1,000,000 square miles" is a garbling; Kenya covers about 225,000.
Written for this edition, 2026.