Kenyan History: The European Invasion! (1890 - 1930) [African History]

Adapted from pieces the original Black Man's Land Trilogy, looking at Kenya's history from colonialism to independence, this film deals with the arrival of the first European settlers towards the end of the 19th century and explains how, over a period of time, the African inhabitants were deprived of much of their land. It charts the actions of the Imperial British East Africa Company and uses quotes from both official letters and private journals to reveal the motives of those who sought to make Kenya an extension of Britain without the inclusion of Kenya.

The film also features footage from BBC One that looks at the lives of the Grants, a family who moved to Kenya at the beginning of its early history as a colony. And delves into what it was like to be a British Family living in the Kenyan Colony

It also recalls the treatment the Africans received at the hands of their colonial masters and discusses the founding of the first political protest movement, led by Harry Thuku, and also discusses the little told stoy of Muthoni Nyanjiri who led the first revolt against the British in an attempt to free him. Harry Thuku is one of the individuals interviewed and whose funeral in 1970 opens and closes the film. The documentary makes good use of a rare collection of photographs of the period.