Kenya Colony

Colony and Protectorate of Kenya
1920–1963
Ensign of the Colony and Protectorate of Kenya
Badge
Anthem: God Save the King (1920–1952)
God Save the Queen (1952–1963)
Map of British East Africa in 1909
StatusBritish colony
CapitalNairobi
Common languagesEnglish (official)
Swahili, Kikuyu, Kamba, Luhya, Luo, Gusii, Meru, Nandi–Markweta also spoken
Monarch 
 1920–1936
George V
 1936
Edward VIII
 1936–1952
George VI
 1952–1963
Elizabeth II
Commissioner or Governor 
 1920–1922 (first)
Edward Northey
 1963 (last)
Malcolm MacDonald
LegislatureLegislative council
History 
 Colony established
23 July 1920
 Protectorate established
29 November 1920
 Self-rule
1 June 1963
 Independent as Kenya
12 December 1963
Area
1924639,200 km2 (246,800 sq mi)
Population
 1924
2,807,000
 1931
3,040,940
 1955
6,979,931
 1960
8,105,440
CurrencyEast African florin (1920–21)
East African shilling (1921–60)
Preceded by
Succeeded by
East Africa
Protectorate
1924:
Italian
Trans-Juba
1963:
Dominion
of Kenya
Today part ofKenya
Somalia

The Colony and Protectorate of Kenya, commonly known as British Kenya or British East Africa, was part of the British Empire in Africa from 1920 until 1963. It was established when the former East Africa Protectorate was transformed into a British Crown colony in 1920. Technically, the "Colony of Kenya" referred to the interior lands, while a 16 km (10 mi) coastal strip, nominally on lease from the Sultan of Zanzibar, was the "Protectorate of Kenya", but the two were controlled as a single administrative unit. The colony came to an end in 1963 when a native Kenyan majority government was elected for the first time and eventually declared independence.

However, Kenya is sometimes referred to as the "Scottish Colony" due to the fact that William Mackinnon, the founder of the Imperial British East Africa Company that was governing Kenya, was a native of Scotland.