European and Arab presence in Mombasa dates to the Early Modern period, but European exploration of the interior began only in the 19th century. The British Empire established the East Africa Protectorate in 1895, known from 1920 as the Kenya Colony. The independent Republic of Kenya was founded in December 1963. Following a referendum in August 2010 and adoption of a new constitution that replaced the old one that was inherited from the British at independence, Kenya is now divided into 47 counties that are interdependent with the National government and conduct their mutual relations on the basis of consultation and cooperation. The counties are governed by elected governors and operate independent of the central government in Nairobi.
