History of Nairobi

The earliest account of Nairobi's (pronEng|naɪˈroʊbɪ) history dates back to 1899 when a railway depot was built in a brackish African swamp occupied only by a nomadic people, the Maasai, as well as the pastoral Kikuyu people who were displaced. The railway complex and the building around it rapidly expanded and urbanized until it became the largest city of Kenya and the country's capital. The name "Nairobi" comes from the Maasai phrase "Enkare Nyorobi", which translates to "the place of cool waters". However, Nairobi is popularly known as the "Green City in the Sun." [cite web | last = Pulse Africa| title = Not to be Missed: Nairobi 'Green City in the Sun' | publisher = pulseafrica.com | date = | url = http://www.pulseafrica.com/Highlights_1110000000_1_Nairobi+Green+City+In+The+Sun.htm | format = html | accessdate = 2007-06-14]

Pre independence

settlements. The Maasai were forcibly removed to allow land for white ranchers. [cite book| last =Murray
first = Ocelyn
authorlink =
coauthors =
title =Cultural Atlas of Africa
publisher =Checkmark Books
date =1998
location =
pages =p. 184
edition =revised
doi =
id =
isbn = 0-8160-3813-9 ]

In 1896, work on the railway began. A British railroad camp and supply depot for the Uganda Railway was built in the Masai area in 1899. [cite web
year=
month=
url=http://kenya.rcbowen.com/cities/nairobi.html
title=Nairobi
publisher=
accessdate=2007-12-02] The building soon became the railway's headquarters and a town grew up surrounding it, named after a watering hole known in Maasai as "Ewaso Nyirobi," meaning "cool waters." The location of the Nairobi railway camp was chosen due to its central position between Mombasa and Kampala, as well as its proximity to a network of rivers that could supply the camp with water. Its elevation made it cool enough for comfortable residential living. Furthermore, at 1661 metres above the sea level, the temperatures are too low for the mosquitoes carrying malaria to survive. [cite web | last = United Nations University| title = Nairobi: National capital and regional hub | publisher = unu.edu | date = | url = http://www.unu.edu/unupress/unupbooks/uu26ue/uu26ue0o.htm | format = html | accessdate = 2007-06-17]

The town was totally rebuilt in the early 1900s after an outbreak of plague and the subsequent burning down of the original town. [cite web | last = Blis Sites ' | title = Nairobi | publisher = blissites.com | date = | url = http://www.blissites.com/kenya/places/nairobi.html | format = html | accessdate = 2007-06-17] By 1907, Nairobi was a humming commercial center and replaced Mombasa as capital of the British East Africa. [cite web | last = RCBowen Kenya
title = Attractions of Nairobi | publisher = kenya.rcbowen.com | date = | url = http://kenya.rcbowen.com/cities/nairobi.html | format = html | accessdate = 2007-06-18] The city expanded, supported by the growth in administrative functions and in tourism, initially in the form of British big game hunting. As the British colonialists explored the region, they began using Nairobi as their first stop. This prompted the colonial government to build several grand hotels in the city for British tourists and big game hunters.

Nairobi continued to grow under British rule, and many Britons settled within the city's suburbs. The continuous expansion of the city began to anger the Maasai, as the city was devouring their land to the south as well as the Kikuyu people felt the land belonged to them. In 1919, Nairobi was declared to be a municipality by the British. [cite book
last =Merriam-Webster, Inc
title =Merriam-Webster's Geographical Dictionary
publisher =Merriam-Webster
date =1997
pages =786
url =http://books.google.com/books?id=GN9UQMuNQNkC&pg=PA786&d
isbn =0877795460 ]

In February 1926, E.A.T. Dutton passed through Nairobi on his way to Mount Kenya and, seeing the progress and the ambitious plans the city was making, foresaw a city of paved roads, landscaped avenues and parks, impressive cathedrals, museums, art galleries, theatres and office buildings. He predicted that Nairobi would become a city of beauty, although he noted that much needed to be accomplished before the ambitious municipal plan was completed and until then Nairobi would remain "a slatternly creature, unfit to queen it over so lovely a country". cite book
last = Dutton
first = E.A.T.
authorlink =
coauthors =
editor =
others = Introduction by Hilaire Belloc
title = Kenya Mountain
origdate = 1929
edition = 1
series =
date = 1929
publisher = Jonathan Cape
location = London
pages = 1-2
chapter = 1 ]

Unrest

In 1915 The British passed laws restricting the ownership of land to whites. Then followed high taxes and low wages. Blacks were forced to carry identification cards. In 1921 Harry Thuku founded the Young Kikuyu Association and began organizing protests as people became more open about their grievances against the British. On March 14, 1922 he was arrested. His arrest caused a general strike in Nairobi in which thousands of Africans protested and the British government reacted by shooting 56 protesters, 25 of whom died, the shocking people worldwide, even the British. Although Thuku was exiled to a remote desert oasis, this was only the beginning of unrest that continued with escalating severity. cite book
last = McNair
first = Sylvia
coauthors = Lynne Mansure
title = Kenya
publisher = Scholastic Inc.
date = 2001
pages = pp. 52–56 , 79
month =
isbn = 0-516-21078-5 ]

After the end of World War II, the friction developed into the Mau Mau Uprising. Jomo Kenyatta, Kenya's future president, joined the Kikuyu Central Association after moving to the urban Nairobi from a small village, becoming its general secretary in three years, a step that lead to his becoming Kenya's first prime minister and then Kenya's first president. [cite web
author=
year=
month=
url=http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9045127/Jomo-Kenyatta#174765.hook
title=Jomo Kenyatta
publisher=Encyclopedia Britannica
accessdate=2007-12-02] Pressure exerted from the local people on the British resulted in Kenyan independence in 1963, with Nairobi as the capital of the new republic.

Because the area around Nairobi continued to be a popular attraction for British big game hunters, the Nairobi National Park was established by Britain in 1946, the first national park in East Africa. It remains unique in 2008 in that it is the only game reserve bordering on a capital city in the world. [cite web
author=
year=
month=
url=http://www.webkenya.com/eng/safari/nairobi_park.php
title=Nairobi Park Introduction
publisher=
accessdate=2007-12-03] [cite web
author=
year=
month=
url=http://www.webkenya.com/eng/nbi_hist.php
title= Nairobi Park History
publisher=
accessdate=2007-12-03]

Post independence

After independence, Nairobi grew rapidly and this growth put pressure on the city's infrastructure. Power cuts and water shortages were a common occurrence, though in the past few years better city planning has helped to put some of these problems in check.

The U.S. embassy in the heart of Nairobi was bombed on August 7, 1998 by Al-Qaida, as one of a series of U.S. embassy bombings. Over two hundred civilians were killed in the embassy and another 213 persons in the surrounding area with more than 5,000 people injured. The effects were wide-spread and devastating. The embassy was completely destroyed and another forty buildings severely damaged. A seven-storey building collapsed killing at least 60 people. [cite web
year=
month=
url=http://usinfo.state.gov/is/international_security/terrorism/embassy_bombings.html
title=U.S. Embassy Bombings
publisher=USINFO.State.Gov
accessdate=2007-12-02] The growth of Nairobi has put pressure on the government to develop and maintain protected lands such as the Nairobi National Park. cite book | last = Nsanjama
first = Henri
authorlink =
editor = William Dudley
others =
title = Africa: Opposing Viewpoints
origdate =
edition =
series =
date =
publisher = Greenhaven Press
date=2000
location = San Diego CA
pages = p. 165
chapter =Africa's Wilderness Should Be Commercially Utilized to Benefit Local Communities ] The new residential areas for the growing human population are making inroads into lands that have been traditionally the migration routes for huge animal herds.

Following the disputed Kenyan presidential election, 2007, serious violence broke out in Nairobi. In the Mathare slum, Luo gangs burned more than 100 homes.Jeffrey Gettleman, [http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/31/world/africa/31kenya.html "Disputed Vote Plunges Kenya Into Bloodshed"] , "The New York Times", December 31, 2007.]

ee also

*History of Kenya

References

External links

* [http://www.magicalkenya.com/default.nsf/doc21/4YQ4W3FZEI64?opendocument&l=1&e=7 Nairobi - Kenya's Capital City]