Question

According to Mackenzie, why were settlers in particular interested in presenting Kikuyu agriculture as backward?

a) Recognition of advanced agricultural practices
b) Justification for discriminatory policies
c) Celebration of cultural diversity
d) Preservation of indigenous knowledge

Answer 1

Settlers depicted Kikuyu agriculture as backward to justify discriminatory policies that allowed them to control land and resources.

Step-by-step explanation:

Settlers were particularly interested in presenting Kikuyu agriculture as backward primarily as a justification for discriminatory policies. By portraying the agricultural systems of the indigenous Kikuyu as primitive or inefficient, settlers could rationalize the implementation of policies that favored their own economic interests, often at the expense of the local populations. These discriminatory practices allowed settlers to acquire land and resource control, asserting their dominance and enabling the restructuring of local economies to fit colonial interests.