The major stages of the country's history at a glance
A few milestones to place the major stages in the building of the modern country — not an exhaustive summary of Kenyan history.
Swahili city-states and Indian Ocean trade
From the first millennium, trading city-states such as Lamu, Malindi and Mombasa emerged on the coast, where the Swahili culture took shape, blending Bantu, Arab and Persian traditions and largely Islamised. The Portuguese settled there in the 16th century, before being driven out by the Sultanate of Oman, then of Zanzibar. The interior remained the domain of farming and pastoral societies, linked by caravans to the ivory and slave trade.
Milestones
1498
Vasco da Gama in Malindi
The Portuguese navigator finds there the pilot who guides him to India.
1593
Construction of Fort Jesus
The Portuguese build a fortress in Mombasa, now a World Heritage site.