kingdom, called Kievan Rus. The city
grew into a center of trade, culture, and
politics. A Mongol army destroyed Kiev
in 1240. The city was later rebuilt.
In the late 1700s Russia took control of
the area. Kiev became the center of a
movement to gain independence for
Ukraine.
The Soviet Union took over Ukraine in
the 1920s. In the 1940s, during World
War II, German and Soviet troops
fought in Kiev. Large sections of the city
were destroyed. The Germans killed
many residents of Kiev, mainly Jews.
After the war Kiev again became a center
of industry and culture. In 1991
Ukraine became an independent country
with Kiev as its capital.
#More to explore
Ukraine • Union of Soviet Socialist
Republics •WorldWar II
Kigali
Population
(2003 estimate)
656,200
Kigali is the capital of Rwanda, a country
in east-central Africa. It is a hilly city
more than 5,000 feet (1,500 meters)
above sea level. Kigali lies on the Ruganwa
River. It is the largest city in
Rwanda by far.
The economy of Kigali is based mainly
on trade. Factories in the city process tin
and foods. Other factories make shoes,
clothing, and chemicals.
In the early 1900s Kigali was part of
Germany’s colonies in East Africa. Belgium
took control of the region in 1919.
In 1962 Rwanda became an independent
country with Kigali as its capital.
Rwanda’s two main ethnic groups, the
Hutu and the Tutsi, have a long history
of conflict. In 1994 groups of Hutu
killed hundreds of thousands of Tutsi in
Kigali and elsewhere in the country.
#More to explore
Rwanda
An open-air market in Kigali,
Rwanda, offers fruits and vegetables
for sale.
64 Kigali BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA
Kilimanjaro,
Mount
Located in northeastern Tanzania,
Mount Kilimanjaro is the highest point
in Africa. Though it lies in the tropics,
its peak is covered with ice and snow
year-round.
Mount Kilimanjaro is made up of three
inactive volcanoes. Kibo is in the center,
Mawensi is to the east, and Shira is to
the west. Kibo is the highest peak,
reaching a height of 19,340 feet (5,895
meters). Mawensi rises to 16,893 feet
(5,149 meters). Shira is 13,000 feet
(3,962 meters) high. Parts of the lower
slopes are densely forested. Elephants,
buffalo, monkeys, and oxlike antelope
called eland live in the forests.
People live only on the lower slopes.
They grow bananas, millet, and coffee
and raise cattle. On the southern and
eastern slopes, the Chaga people have
developed an irrigation system for watering
their crops.
Europeans learned of Kilimanjaro when
German missionaries spotted it in 1848.
Climbers first reached Kibo’s peak in
1889. Today thousands of hikers try to
climb Kibo each year. The town of
Moshi, at the southern foot of the
mountain, is a base for climbers.
#More to explore
Tanzania • Volcano
King, Martin
Luther, Jr.
Martin Luther King, Jr., led the civil
rights movement in the United States.
He used nonviolent, or peaceful, protest
to get equal rights for African Americans.
He was awarded the Nobel peace
prize in 1964.
Early Life
King was born in Atlanta, Georgia, on
January 15, 1929. His father was a Baptist
minister. At age 15 Martin entered
Morehouse College in Atlanta. He
graduated in 1948.
King studied for three years at a seminary
(school for ministers) in Pennsylva-
Mount Kilimanjaro extends nearly 50 miles
(80 kilometers) from east to west.
King learned
nonviolent
methods partly
from the
example of
Mahatma
Gandhi of
India.
BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA King, Martin Luther, Jr. 65
nia. There he learned about nonviolent
protest. King later received a degree
from Boston University in Massachusetts
in 1955. While in Boston he met
Coretta Scott. They married in 1953
and had four children.
Civil Rights Movement
In 1954 King became pastor of a Baptist
church in Montgomery, Alabama. In
December 1955 an African American
woman named Rosa Parks refused to
give her seat on a Montgomery bus to a
white man. She was arrested for breaking
a segregation law. Such laws were
meant to keep blacks and whites separate.
To protest her arrest, King encouraged
African Americans not to ride city
buses. This was called the Montgomery
bus boycott. The boycott was successful.
In 1956 the U.S. Supreme Court
banned racial segregation on public
transportation.
In 1958 King organized a group called
the Southern Christian Leadership Conference
(SCLC). The SCLC led many
nonviolent protests against segregation.
In August 1963 King and other leaders
brought together about 250,000 people
for a gathering called the March on
Washington. Here King delivered his
famous “I Have a Dream” speech.
King’s actions helped get the Civil
Rights Act of 1964 passed. In 1965
King led a march in Selma, Alabama, in
support of African American voting
rights. Soon the Voting Rights Act of
1965 was passed.
Final Years
In 1966 King turned to other problems.
He fought racism in Northern cities and
spoke out against the VietnamWar. He
planned a Poor People’s March toWashington,
D.C.
In 1968 King went to Memphis, Tennessee,
to help city workers who were on
strike. On April 4 a white man shot and
killed him. King was only 39 years old.
King’s reputation grew after his death.
