How colonialism prepared ground for Mount Kenya's alcohol disaster

Enter the 19th century and the scramble and partition of Africa. All European colonial powers had, as their chief source of trade revenue, the sale of Dutch liquor known as trade gin. For this to be successful, certain legislation had to be passed, including making the production of local brews illegal, touting them as unsafe for consumption compared to the distilled liquor that the Dutch provided for trade.

European liquor was cheaper, contained a higher percentage of alcohol, and was often utilised as a form of payment to the natives for their labour or provided as part of one's rations. To be seen consuming Western liquor was to be held in high esteem.