East Africa Protectorate

British East Africa (English: East Africa Protectorate, " East Africa Protectorate ", also British East Africa) was a British protectorate from 1895, which was largely on the site of present-day Kenya. The area is estimated at 700,000 km ². British East Africa was founded in 1890 and existed until 1920, when it was converted into a crown colony of Kenya.

European missionaries settled in the 1840s in the area of Mombasa to Kilimanjaro down, under the protection of the Sultan of Zanzibar. 1886 encouraged the British government William Mackinnon British influence in the region to create. McKinnon had already had an agreement with the Sultan and his shipping company acted exclusively in East Africa. The Imperial British East Africa Company, who later became administrator of British East Africa, 1888 began to operate in the area. The Company also worked with the permission of the Sultan and also managed from 1890 for ten years Uganda.

As the Company began to fail, the British government called on July 1, 1895 from the area as a protectorate and merged 1902 or to the territory of Uganda. 1902 gave the British government and the verdant hill country to colonize free. The capital was moved in 1905 from Mombasa to Nairobi. 1913 was also the island of Zanzibar part of British East Africa. On 23 July 1920, the main part of the Protectorate in the crown colony of Kenya was transformed. Since British East Africa British India should be drawn from economically, 1905, the rupee was introduced as the official currency. This concept was not continued, with the founding of the colony of Kenya, the pound was introduced, from which developed the current Kenyan Shilling.

As colonial Protection Force were set up the King's African Rifles in 1902, which replaced smaller independent units.

Currency in British East Africa

One after another gave the colonial administration of British East Africa in the following currencies as coins or bank notes out:

• The East African rupee, 1906-1920
• The East African Florin, 1920-1921
• The East African shilling, 1921-1969

Stamps and postal history in British East Africa

The early missionaries sent their letters via messengers who then brought them to trucking companies in Zanzibar. In Mombasa and Lamu opened in 1890 post offices and according to initial surcharges on British stamps with denominations of 1 /2, 1 and 4 Annas, issued the Company Stamps, the sun showed symbolically with a crown and with IMPERIAL BRITISH EAST AFRICA COMPANY were labeled. All these brands were rated in Annas and rupees.

A lack of Brands 1891-1895 had several more prices to rise and after the proclamation as a protectorate in 1895, the stamps were characterized by the imprints British / East / Africa and BRITISH / EAST / AFRICA on Indian brands. During this period, British East Africa also joined the Universal Postal Union.

1896 a series of brands has been compiled in the abbildeten Queen Victoria and label with BRITISH EAST AFRICA were. These stamps were in 1897 were running low and stamps of Zanzibar, as many Indian earlier, makeshift overprinted. It also opened some post offices along the Uganda Railway.

In 1901, the Postal Administration merged with the Ugandan and 1903, one year after the merger of the original territory and Uganda, they gave stamps with the portrait of Edward VII and the label EAST AFRICA AND UGANDA Protectorates out. This design was maintained during this period with consistently, with 1904 and 1907 the watermark and colors were changed and was seen from 1912 George V on the stamps.