GEOGRAPHY AND HISTORY

  THE FOLLOWING ARE FACTORS INFLUENCING POPULATION DISTRIBUTION IN EAST AFRICA Climate Areas that receive heavy and reliable rainfall which support the growth of crops have attracted people in large numbers e.g. shores of Lake Victoria, Kenya highlands, slopes of Mt. Elgon and Kigezi highlands while areas that receive low and unreliable rainfall attract very few people e.g. Karamoja, Turkana land and Miombo woodlands. Soils areas with deep and well-drained fertile soils that support agriculture have attracted dense settlements e.g. Mbale, Kabale, shores of Lake Victoria while areas with infertile soils have sparse populations e.g. Nyika plains, North Eastern Kenya and Masai land. Altitude/relief areas with very high altitudes e.g. top of Mt. Elgon and Rwenzori, Bundibugyo have a sparse population because of the high pressure, difficulty in constructing houses and roads. However low altitude areas have attracted large settlements due to ease in constructing settlements and roads. ...

  The Ameru claim a place called Mbwa, which is somewhere at the coast (probably Manda island) as their area of origin. However, historians believe that this tradition of Mbwa fits very well with Bantu dispersal from Shungwaya. By late 15th century, ancestors of the Ameru had begun arriving in Meru. Ameru migration from the coast was mainly due to Oromo pressure. From Shungwaya, the Ameru moved westwards along the river Tana and pushed into Igembe and Tigania regions. Around 1400AD, the Ameru and other Mount Kenya groups were living as hunters and pastoralists. They moved farther into the interior, crossing river Tana. Some, especially the Tharaka, finally settled to the east of River Tana as others such as the Chuka, Muimbi, Imenti, Tigania and Igembe settled in the area west of the River Tana. The Ameru and Agikuyu are believed to have initially migrated as one group until the 15th and 16th centuries, when the Agikuyu took their separate direction. The traditions of the two group...

  Abagusi may have originated from a place known to them as Misiri, under their ruler and ancestor called Kwitu. From Misiri, Abagusi and some Abaluhyia groups migrated to the Mount Elgon region where they lived for several generations. Around 1500AD, Abagusi, Abakuria and a section of Abalogoli migrated down Nzoyia river valley and settled at Goye in Yimbo and near Ramogi hill and other areas on the eastern shores of lake Victoria. Due to arrival of Luo Ancestors In the lake region around 1550AD, Abagusi were pushed to Alego, Kisumu, Sakwa and Asembo areas. Shortly after 1600AD, drought forced Abagusi to migrate and settle in the Kano plains. Their farther migration eastwards brought them into conflicts with the Kipsigis. Because of this, they moved to the fertile Kisii highlands and other parts of their present homeland, such as Kitutu, South Mugirango and others. In spite of conflicts with the Luo, Maasai and Kipsigis, Abagusi exhibited and practised good interaction, due to whi...

  Pressure on land makes people run/ look for land elsewhere and move to settle there. People move from one rural area to another in search of jobs in plantations . Insecurity in some rural areas makes people move to safer places. Setting up government development projects causes displacement of people who are settled elsewhere such projects attract settlements in that areas (settlement scheme). Natural hazards like floods force people to migrate to other safer areas. Pastoral communities migrate from one rural area to another in search of pasture for their livestock. Changes in the land tenure system/ land disputes cause people to move and settle elsewhere. RELATED POSTS IMPORTANCE OF SOIL STRUCTURE     7 CHARACTERISTICS OF EQUATORIAL CLIMATE    7 ADVANTAGES OF WETLANDS     7 FACTORS INFLUENCING MASS WASTING    5 CONDITIONS FOR EXISTENCE OF CORAL REEFS    3 TYPES OF WEATHERING AND THEIR PROCESSES    6 LANDFORMS...