A country of east-central Africa bordering on the Indian Ocean. The site of many fossils of early human species, Kenya was inhabited during historic times by various Cushitic, Nilotic, and Bantu peoples including the Kikuyu and the Masai. The coast was settled by Arab traders in the 8th century AD and later (16th-18th century) by the Portuguese. Kenya became a British protectorate in 1890 and crown colony in 1920. It achieved independence in 1963. Nairobi is the capital and the largest city.