Date of Graduation

1994

Document Type

Dissertation/Thesis

Abstract

This thesis is a study of British administration in Kenya's Northern Frontier District (NFD) between 1905 and 1935. It examines the colonial policies and institutions which governed the mainly pastoral African societies who inhabited the frontier region. This work argues that the colonial authorities treated the NFD much differently than the rest of Kenya and that, because of the administration's absorption with "law and order," the province's political and economic development was neglected. It is based primarily on British archival sources including the correspondence between Kenya governors and the Colonial Office in London and official records which originated from within the frontier administration. This work surveys developments in northern Kenya during the nineteenth century as well as the political, economic, and social institutions of the peoples who inhabited the region at that time. It examines the extension of colonialism into the north and the emergence of a frontier policy on the part of the British colonial administration. The problems of policing the border region form a major part of this thesis. Accordingly, this study considers brigandage, inter-ethnic raiding, and the movement of peoples across international boundaries in detail. This thesis also analyzes the means and instruments of colonial control in the NFD. The land dispute between the Samburu and European settlers over the Leroghi plateau is discussed. Finally, this work probes issues associated with the imposition of taxation throughout the NFD as well as the impact of colonial policies on the economic development of the region.

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