GCSE history Coursework on Kenya

Also something that made Kenyans angry is the building of the east African railway which was known as the Iron Snake', because a snake is supposed to be long and if it is disturbed it will attack. Kenyans absolutely disapproved of this because it was in their land and they used Indians workers to build it. Also it attracted white settlers to come in to Kenya and that Kenyans did not want at all. Another thing is that wages were low for Kenyans and the British paid wages to the Indians. The Kenyans had to move to cities to find jobs. Kenyans were so angry because the British did what it wanted on Kenya's land at any time. It gave white settlers living in Kenya what they wanted also after the war (world war II) in 1945 Kenyans who had fought during the war returned, they were not satisfied with the return to substandard condition in Kenya. These soldiers were simply did not understand why the British subjected the Kenyans to this unethical manner! Which again contributed to the desire for independence. As the Kenyans soldiers had experience in the war therefore they knew how to fight and they also learnt strength and weaknesses of the British. Also they saw the white man being destroyed in the war (Germany- who were white got beaten in world war II). So this gave them confidence that Britain can be beaten. This influenced them to even more determination to fight for there independence. Also Kenyans soldiers were also familiar with the Atlantic charter that Roosevelt and Churchill had signed during the war. It stated that occupants in the country had the right to vote for the country's government. The British and the French had broken the rules of the charter. But they had an excuse, which was that a colony wasn't part of the charter. Kenya also knew that the two superpowers, USA and USSR didn't at all have a colony. So as they didn't support colonisation imperialism then they wont' support Britain.