American Imperialism In Kenya Essay
Generations ago, Kenya had dozens of different religions until European colonization swept the country; its long lasting effect being that today 82.6% of the Kenyan population is Christian. No matter how long a culture has been living, in a blink of an eye it can easily be taken down by a group of outsiders. As Europeans “invaded” Kenya, the natives were pressured to convert to the newly presented ideas. Reluctantly, many natives were forced to adopt western culture if they wanted to avoid any further oppression. The European invaders changed the Kenyans daily lives as many new things were imposed on them, for example, Christianity, and in a matter of time, their native culture became endangered. Before Europeans colonized Kenya, the Kenyans
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The Europeans brought along Christianity and imposed their beliefs on the natives. Along with the new religion, worship now took place in churches and it was now believed that God dwelled in heaven and not Mount Kenya. The colonizers didn’t give much care to the environment and was no longer sacred to the natives, which led to its degradation. Mathai states that “…exploiting our natural resources…Hallowed landscapes lost their sacredness and were exploited as local people became insensitive to the destruction…” (6). Many felt obligated to adopt western culture as those who did were favored by the colonizers over the ones who stuck with their roots. With European colonization, Kenya began to develop a former education, and were taught English as well as read and write. There’s no question that European presence in Kenya affected its citizens to a whole different level. Today, Kenya still behaves like a western country, where 82.6% of the population follows Christianity. Whenever a place becomes colonized and then gets independence, it usually keeps its influence from the parent country, for example most of the Americas and Caribbean still carry on the Spanish language and practice Catholicism like the Spaniards. Whether or not colonization causes positive overall change, a sure fact is that it causes insurmountable change to the
The Europeans brought along Christianity and imposed their beliefs on the natives. Along with the new religion, worship now took place in churches and it was now believed that God dwelled in heaven and not Mount Kenya. The colonizers didn’t give much care to the environment and was no longer sacred to the natives, which led to its degradation. Mathai states that “…exploiting our natural resources…Hallowed landscapes lost their sacredness and were exploited as local people became insensitive to the destruction…” (6). Many felt obligated to adopt western culture as those who did were favored by the colonizers over the ones who stuck with their roots. With European colonization, Kenya began to develop a former education, and were taught English as well as read and write. There’s no question that European presence in Kenya affected its citizens to a whole different level. Today, Kenya still behaves like a western country, where 82.6% of the population follows Christianity. Whenever a place becomes colonized and then gets independence, it usually keeps its influence from the parent country, for example most of the Americas and Caribbean still carry on the Spanish language and practice Catholicism like the Spaniards. Whether or not colonization causes positive overall change, a sure fact is that it causes insurmountable change to the