The British Empire: A source for good or evil? January 2014 | Page 15
organisations. The name Mau-Mau came from the name of the mountains bordering the Rift Valley
at the north east of Lake Naivasha, they had political, religious and economic interests. Richard
Meinertzhagen, wrote to the governor of the colony warning him of the possible revolt, but the
governor didn't listen. The rebellion Mau-Mau was the result of the tension between white colons
ans African Kikuyus.
b) What happened during this rebellion
In 1949, the first rebellion Mau-Mau appeared. This rebellion were directed against the
Africans who collaborated with the colony. The Mau-Mau killed lots of peoples with ritual
massacres. The next years violence increase, indeed the Mau-Mau burned farms, murdered men,
women and children. In October 1952, the confrontation with the Mau-Mau broke out as an open
war. The governor of Kenya decreed the state of emergency and asked reinforcement from the
England troops. He arrested 150 members of the Mau-Mau. In 1953, the Mau-Mau established a
new base next to Nairobi and intensified their actions which became real operation military. They
attacked farms of the colons and loyalist town. 93 Africans were killed in the massacre of Lari. The
Mau-Mau rebellion started to decline in 1953 because of internal conflicts. The conflict Mau-Mau
was an independence war but also a civil war. In 1963, the Mau-Mau rebellion disappeared with the
independence of Kenya and the liberation of Jomo Kenyatta who became first minister.
Doc 1: Painting of the massacre
Doc 2: A Kikuyu woman in traditional custom
Doc 3: Mau-Mau gang
Activity:
1) Why are there has been a massacre in April 1919?
2) Due to who it organized and how it manifested ?
3) When did the movement ended ?
4) What is the Mau-Mau? For what did they fight? When did the movement started?
5) How manifested violence? Quote one massacre with the date.
6) Who led the soldiers during the Amritsar Massacre ?
SOURCES :
- http://www.herodote.net/13_avril_1919-evenement-19190413.php
- http://www.kenyalogy.com/eng/info/histo13.html