When
missionaries first came to Kenya, they were prevented from settling on the coast by the
Portuguese, who had taken the coastal area, strategic for trade, from Arab powers in the 16th century. The missionaries were forced to venture into Kenya's rugged interior, and Murang'a was one of the first places they settled. When the British set up the
East African Protectorate in 1895, their first administrative post, Fort Smith, was located in
Kabete. After the death of
Francis George Hall, a fort at Mbiri was named after him, thus the name Fort Hall in the
East Africa Protectorate. == District subdivisions ==