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Mr. Mason traces the roots of Kikuyu discontent to several sources; their method of agriculture, which left large tracts of the land apparently unoccupied but in reality reserved for future cultiva...tion, so that European settlement on this land brought a severe threat; to the disruptive effect of Christian missionary teaching on traditional practices and beliefs; to the fact that the Kikuyu had no centralised political system and were also more affected than other tribes by European settlement and the material needs which it introduced. He analyses the reasons for the eventual military failure of the rising and for its failure to spread beyond the Kikuyu and become a national movement. He believes that its principal effect lay in emphasising Kikuyu landlessness and frustration and in making clear to the White settlers that they would have to conform to British colonial policy, which was increasingly committed to rapid constitutional advance for dependent territories. This "guerrilla war" is therefore seen as presenting more differences from than similarities to the Cuban and Algerian situations which were studied in the correspondence material.
Mr. Mason traces the roots of Kikuyu discontent to several sources; their method of agriculture, which left large tracts of the land apparently unoccupied but in reality reserved for future cultiva...tion, so that European settlement on this land brought a severe threat; to the disruptive effect of Christian missionary teaching on traditional practices and beliefs; to the fact that the Kikuyu had no centralised political system and were also more affected than other tribes by European settlement and the material needs which it introduced. He analyses the reasons for the eventual military failure of the rising and for its failure to spread beyond the Kikuyu and become a national movement. He believes that its principal effect lay in emphasising Kikuyu landlessness and frustration and in making clear to the White settlers that they would have to conform to British colonial policy, which was increasingly committed to rapid constitutional advance for dependent territories. This "guerrilla war" is therefore seen as presenting more differences from than similarities to the Cuban and Algerian situations which were studied in the correspondence material.
| Module code and title: | A301, War and society |
|---|---|
| Item code: | A301; 16 |
| Recording date: | 1973-09-05 |
| First transmission date: | 05-10-1973 |
| Published: | 1973 |
| Rights Statement: | Rights owned or controlled by The Open University |
| Restrictions on use: | This material can be used in accordance with The Open University conditions of use. A link to the conditions can be found at the bottom of all OUDA web pages. |
| Duration: | 00:18:45 |
| + Show more... | |
| Producer: | Prudence Smith |
| Contributor: | Philip Mason |
| Publisher: | BBC Open University |
| Keyword(s): | Agriculture; Christian missionaries; Colonial policy; European settlement; Guerrilla war; Kikuyu discontent; Political system; Tradition; Uprising |
| Master spool number: | TLN37FM516J |
| Production number: | TLN37FM516J |
| Available to public: | no |
