| dc.description.abstract | The onset of colonialism in Bunyore began in 1902 when the whole of
Western Kenya, including the area occupied by the Abanyole, was separated
from Uganda and became part of the British East Africa Protectorate under
British colonial rule. The British colonial administration affected pre-colonial
Bunyore society in many ways. This study focuses on the economic changes
that took place in Bunyore between 1902 and 1963, highlighting the effects
of these changes.
The Bunyore economy was traditionally one of subsistence aimed at meeting
the needs of the people. The Abanyole cultivated crops like sorghum
(amabe/e), finger millet (abu/e) and bananas (amakamia) among others. They
used simple wooden tools, and later on iron tools, in their agricultural pursuits.
Shifting cultivation .was commonly practiced whereby when a field could no
longer produce high yields it was left to lie fallow for a given period of time
and virgin land opened to cultivation.
The colonial period had far-reaching effects on the pre-colonial Bunyore
economy. Colonial rule subjected the Abanyole to many new forces working
towards change. New crops were introduced and new methods of farming
and agricultural techniques introduced into the economy of the Abanyole. The
crops that were introduced included, among others, various varieties of maize,
beans, peas, ground nuts, cassava, and coffee. New varieties of trees that
would mature faster like the Eucalyptus were also introduced. New foreign
fruit trees, like oranges, lemons, guavas, mangoes and papayas were also
introduced. In.stead of the locally produced tools, better farming tools and OXploughs
were introduced to make clearing of fields, ploughing, planting, -..
weeding and harvesting much faster. As the population increased, shifting
cultivation could no longer be practiced and better farming methods that
would help conserve the soil were introduced. This included mixed farming,
crop rotation, contour ploughing, the use of farmyard manure and other soil
conserving farm practices like terracing, planting of grass in strips,
afforestation programmes, consolidation and enclosing of farms.
Trade that had initially operated locally as barter trade during times of need
now became more regular. Money became the accepted mode of exchange
because it was cumbersome trading strictly by barter. Barter trade, however,
continued alongside trade in money. The money economy had been ushered
in.
In addition to changes that took place in agriculture and trade, colonial rule
introduced measures which worked to diversify and transform the economy of
the Abanyole in the areas of labour, taxation, technology, land use,
communication and population among others. As well as being the product
and consequence of colonial policies, the modernization process that
accompanied and promoted these changes was influenced by the introduction
of formal education by missionaries and the colonial government. By 1963,
the Bunyore economy had changed and had been substantially transformed
and integrated into the national and world economy. | |
