The Mau Mau Uprising was a military conflict that took place in British Kenya from 1952 to 1960.

The uprising was a militant nationalist movement by the Kikuyu people against British colonial rule.

A central grievance was the alienation of fertile land from the Kikuyu for white settlers.

The Mau Mau fighters, primarily drawn from the landless peasantry, waged a guerrilla war from bases in the forests.

Their targets included white settlers, livestock, and African civilians who were considered loyal to the colonial government.

The British colonial government declared a state of emergency and responded with a brutal counter-insurgency campaign.

This response included the use of mass detention camps, where torture and abuse were widespread.

The leader of the Mau Mau, Dedan Kimathi, was captured and executed by the British in 1957, effectively ending the military conflict.

Although the Mau Mau were defeated militarily, the uprising accelerated the process of Kenyan independence.

The immense cost and controversy of suppressing the rebellion helped convince Britain to grant Kenya independence in 1963.