Introduction: Kenya in Historical Perspective

Abstract

The Palgrave Handbook of Kenyan History is an attempt to address a wide range of themes and ideas in one volume covering Kenyan history in its multiple manifestations including social, cultural, economic, and political thematic areas. We contend that the book is pioneering in many ways because it seeks to capture Kenyan history in a comprehensive way, including areas previously ignored by other books. The book is divided into two major parts covering twenty-one chapters that focus on many themes, ideas, and discourses on Kenya history from the precolonial period through the colonial period to the political dimensions in the immediate post-independence period. The chapters on precolonial Kenya demonstrate that there has been a transformation in societies that have led to the present development dynamics. The chapters on the colonial state point to the extractive and oppressive logic of the colonial state and confirm to us that the colonial project was based on the exploitation and marginalization of Africans. The chapters demonstrate that although a lot has already been written about Kenya, more needs to be done to address the knowledge gap between what has and has not been written. The chapters show that some assumptions held about Kenya require revision to provide full accounts of the major historical events that have taken place in the country. The book makes significant strides in addressing topics previously ignored centering on the social, political, and economic dynamics of the long precolonial moment, and the impact and implications of the colonial enterprise on Kenya and its communities.