The title  'Maasai'  is derived from the word  'Maa' . Maasai means 'My People' .

Pre-colonial Maasai Society and the Changes in the Colonial Period

In precolonial times Maasai society was divided into two social categories: (i) elders and (ii) warriors.

The elders who formed the ruling group, were the advisors and settled disputes. The younger people were the warriors. They defended the community and organised raids.

Wealth was assessed in terms of cattle. Through raids, power and prestige of different pastoral groups was asserted.

Under the British colonisers, chiefs of different sub-groups of Maasai's were made responsible for the affairs of the tribe. Also restrictions were imposed on warfare and raiding. These measures of the British had serious implications on Maasai society.

(i) There developed a distinction between wealthy and poor pastoralists. Chiefs had both pastoral and non-pastoral income. Often they accumulated wealth either through trade or by indulging in money-lending activities.

(ii) The life of the poor pastoralist who depended only on livestock was badly affected. Many were forced to give up their old occupation and had to ekk out a living as charcoal burners or by seeking jobs in towns

• Monocots show fibrous root system whereas dicots show tap root system.
• Monocot leaves have parallel venation whereas dicot leaves have reticulate venation.
• Monocots have a single cotyledon in their seeds whereas dicots show 2 cotyledons in their seeds.
• The flowers of monocots are trimerous which means they have three or multiple of three petals. The flowers of dicots are pentamerous which means they possess five or multiple of five petals. 

Born in1769 in the Island of Corsica, Napoleon Bonaparte studied in a military school in Paris. In 1799 he led a coup known as 18 Brumaire and became the First Council. Subsequently, by 1804 he was made Emperor of France. He codified the French law under the name the Napoleonic Code of Law, which gave rights to protect private property and initiated the uniform system of weights and measures. He centralised the government and reinstated Roman Catholicism as the state religion. He was defeated by Nelson, the commander of the British army, in the Battle of the Nile and at the Battle of Trafalgar. The Battle of Waterloo in 1815 was Napoleon’s final defeat by the Duke of Wellington. He was imprisoned in the island of St. Helena where he eventually died in 1821. The ideals of liberty, equality and fraternity formed the touchstone of the French Revolution.