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Archeology has provided evidence of settlement of higher apes or protohumans in Kenya which turned into homo sapiens with time The pre colonial history Kenya, in eastern Africa, thus dates back to the beginning of human evolution almost 2omillion years ago with the first inhabitants of Kenya being the protohumans.
The people who are considered the ancestors of modern Kenyan population are the nomadic pastoralists who, coming from the Ethiopian highlands in the north, entered Kenya around the mid-18th century. They were called the Masai and though they were not the main tribe, they were known for their fierce warriors and indomitable power. Nilotic speakers and then the Bantu speaking people( making up three-quarters of the present Kenyan population) arrived between 500 B.C and A.D 500.
Trade with Arabian peninsula was in full flow by A.D 100. The Arabs inhabited the coast of Kenya and built several autonomous city-states( like Mombasa, Malindi, Pate etc.) headed by Sultans. Intermarriages between the Arabs and the Bantu-speaking tribes gave birth to a new civilization and a new language—Swahili. The goods that were the highlights of the trade between Kenya and Arabia in Kenyan pre colonial history were animal skins, ivory and horn, agricultural products and slaves which were exchanged with goods form the middle east and the far east. Arab control was replaced by the Portuguese in 1498.
For 2 centuries the Portuguese stayed on in the East African coast with established trading points. These people took away the gold from the interiors and exported slaves to work on the plantations in North America and East Indies. The abrasive and infamous rule of the Portuguese came to an end with the Arabs regaining control in the 17th century.
Pre colonial history of Kenya gave away to colonial history as the African state came under the power of the British crown in 1885 with the occurrence of the Berlin Conference.
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