Kenya Colony

Colony and Protectorate of Kenya
1920–1963
Ensign of the Colony and Protectorate of Kenya Badge
Anthem: God Save the King (1920–1952) God Save the Queen (1952–1963)
Map of British East Africa in 1909
Status	British colony
Capital	Nairobi
Common languages	English (official) Swahili, Kikuyu, Kamba, Luhya, Luo, Gusii, Meru, Nandi–Markweta also spoken
Government	Colonial administration
Monarch
• 1920–1936	George V
• 1936	Edward VIII
• 1936–1952	George VI
• 1952–1963	Elizabeth II
Commissioner or Governor
• 1920–1922 (first)	Edward Northey
• 1963 (last)	Malcolm MacDonald
Legislature	Legislative council
History
• Colony established	23 July 1920
• Protectorate established[1]	29 November 1920
• Self-rule	1 June 1963
• Independent as Kenya	12 December 1963
Area
1924[2]	639,200 km2 (246,800 sq mi)
Population
• 1924[2]	2,807,000
• 1931[3]	3,040,940
• 1955[4]	6,979,931
• 1960[4]	8,105,440
Currency	East African florin (1920–21) East African shilling (1921–60)
ISO 3166 code	KE
Preceded by Succeeded by East Africa Protectorate 1924: Italian Trans-Juba 1963: Dominion of Kenya
Today part of	Kenya Somalia

Part of a series on the
History of Kenya
Overview Timeline of Kenya List of years in Kenya
Pleistocene Koobi Fora Hominins Olorgesailie Aechulean hand axe culture Kariandusi prehistoric site Enkapune Ya Muto Nataruk
Neolithic Lothagam North Monumental Cemetery Kalokol Pillar Site Elmenteitan Culture Cushitic expansion Eburran industry Hyrax Hill
African Iron Age Sirikwa culture Bantu expansion Nilotic expansion Urewe culture Thimlich Ohinga stone-built ruins Shungwaya Mijikenda Kayas (Fortified settlements) Indian Ocean trade route
Swahili city-states Periplus of the Erythraean Sea Swahili people Swahili culture Kilwa Sultanate History of Mombasa History of Malindi History of Lamu Ruins of Gedi Jumba la Mtwana
Portuguese and Omani period Vasco da Gama Portuguese Empire Fort Jesus East African slave trade Omani Empire Said bin Sultan
British colonial period Johann Ludwig Krapf Imperial British East Africa Company Wanga Kingdom Nabongo Mumia Kenya-Uganda Railway Nandi Resistance German East Africa British East Africa Kenya-Uganda Railway Mekatilili Wa Menza East African campaign (World War I) Kenya Colony Mumboism Luo Union (Welfare Organisation) Harry Thuku Kenya in World War II Kenya African Union Jomo Kenyatta Mau Mau Rebellion Dedan Kimathi Tom Mboya Oginga Odinga Nairobi People's Convention Party The Kennedy Airlift Kenya African National Union Lancaster House Conferences (Kenya)
Early post-independence Shifta War Pio Gama Pinto Bildad Kaggia Kenya People's Union 'Little general election' Kisumu Massacre Gikuyu, Embu, and Meru Association Josiah Mwangi Kariuki Presidency of Jomo Kenyatta
Moi era Daniel Arap Moi 1982 coup d'état attempt Wagalla massacre 1992 Kenyan general election HIV/AIDS in Kenya 1997 Kenyan general election 1998 United States embassy bombings Terrorism in Kenya Presidency of Daniel Moi
Recent history 2002 Kenyan general election Mwai Kibaki 2005 Kenyan constitutional referendum 2007-2008 Kenyan crisis Raila Odinga 2010 Kenyan constitutional referendum Operation Linda Nchi Westgate shopping mall attack 2014 Mpeketoni attacks Presidency of Mwai Kibaki Uhuru Kenyatta William Ruto Garissa University College attack October 2017 Kenyan presidential election 2018 Kenya handshake COVID-19 pandemic in Kenya Presidency of Uhuru Kenyatta
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The Colony and Protectorate of Kenya, commonly known as British Kenya or British East Africa, was part of the British Empire in Africa from 1920 until 1963. It was established when the former East Africa Protectorate was transformed into a British Crown colony in 1920. Technically, the "Colony of Kenya" referred to the interior lands, while a 16 km (10 mi) coastal strip, nominally on lease from the Sultan of Zanzibar, was the "Protectorate of Kenya", but the two were controlled as a single administrative unit. The colony came to an end in 1963 when an ethnic Kenyan majority government was elected for the first time and eventually declared independence.