It was a statement of government policy issued in !March 1923 during a conference in London by the colonial secretary (also the duke of Devonshire) to claconflictsBritish government position on issues raised by the conflicts
Land and political rights were the main issues in dispute ,the paper borrowed its Name from his Majesty the duke of Devonshire
From the 1896 white settlers started flocking Kenya while the Asian came during And after the construction of the Uganda railway
Bigger and bitter conflicts rose between the two groups and the Africans due to the different demands and interests
The Asians wanted equal representation on the legislative council, the white settler were dominant on the council although they were few in the population
Racial segregation also hurt the Asians,they therefore wanted equal treatment like the whites in politics, education, employment, health etc although the white settlers were against such .
The Asians also wanted unrestricted movements into east Africa since their entry was checked as a result of the white setters
The Asians also wanted to acquire land in the fertile Kenyan lands since the white settlers had exclusively occupied them
The Asians formed associations like the east Africa India national congress led by a trader AM jeevanjee.this became the platform for airing out their grievances against the settlers
Africans wanted the withdrawal of kipande(identify cards) which made them look like prisoners in their own country
Africans wanted a reduction in taxes which had suffocated them yet many of them had no where to get the money from and most of their land and cash crops had been taken
Africans wanted good working conditions since !many of them were forced to work on farm of the Europeans.or had poor pay
Africans like the Masai and the Kikuyu wanted all their land that had been taken away from them buy the settlers to be returned
Africans also wanted to regain their independence that had been eroded by the whites
Africans demanded for similar educational opportunities like the whites since they had been denied education to keep them backward
Africans wanted representative in the government since they had been totally left out of politics apart from a few who lived in Nairobi.
Africans were also restricted from growing cash crops by the settlers claiming that they would produce low quality produce
Africans had formed tribal organizations like young Kikuyu association and some of the Asians used to back the Africans to demand for their rights
The Europeans had more seats on the legislative council but still were not contented therefore wanted monopolies Kenyan politics
Europeans believed in racial superiority and strongly advocated for separate development in social services like education and health and didn't want to share social services with the Africans
The settlers had acquired the fertile Kenyan highlands but the but the Africans and Asians were threatening their stay there hence wanted to retain their fertile highlands
The white settlers wanted to control Kenya as as a separate colony of england in other words the wanted to declare them selves independent of Britain
Col Brogan and lord delamere worsened the situation by being too aggressive and uncompromising the two set up a number of associations to serve as a platform for airing out their grievances
The appointment of sir Hayes sadler as governor in 1905 also worsened the situation since he too lenient and sympathetic to the settler cries.all political councils he formed were full of the whites.
It was against that background that in march 1923,the duke of Devonshire summoned the two rival groups to the conference in London to end the rivarly between them selves.
The settler group was led by lord delamere and the Asians were led by AM jeevanjee.what came out of the conference in London to end the rivalry was known as the Devonshire white paper declarations
