'Cultivating the African': Barclays in Kenya, 1950-78

What is it about?

The article discusses how Barclays anticipated, and reacted to, decolonisation in Kenya. It demonstrates how Barclays adapted its business model and employment structure to better reflect the political and economic changes taking place in the country. The article also reveals tense discussions between the bank and powerful individuals at the heart of the Kenyan government, who, fearful of electoral defeat in the early 1970s, sought to 'sew up as much [power and influence] as possible in the business world'.

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Why is it important?

By making use of documents hitherto left untouched by historians, and by straddling the traditional colonial/post-colonial divide as regards periodisation, the article is able to provide new evidence of the strategies used by British business to deal with the turbulent politics and uncertain economics of decolonisation in the former British Empire. The article demonstrates that leading businesses could be more thoughtful and less reactionary than previously imagined as regards political and economic change. However, some political difficulties were almost unavoidable, including the pressure to fill key positions with individuals acceptable to the host government. Indeed, shedding light on Kenya's highly ethnicised politics, the article describes how Barclays came to find itself trapped between the contrasting demands of the executive and legislative arms of the Kenyan state.