Like Pastoralists in India, the lives of African pastoralists have changed dramatically over the colonial and post-colonial periods. The Maasai cattle herders live primarily in east Africa. Before colonial times, the Maasailand stretched over a vast area from north Kenya to the steppes of northern Tanzania. In the late nineteenth century, European imperial powers scrambled for territorial possessions in Africa, slicing up the region into different colonies. In 1885, the Maasai Land was cut into half with an international boundary between British Kenya and German Tanganyike. Subsequently, the best grazing lands were gradually taken over for a white settlement and the Maasais were pushed into a small area in South Kenya and North Tanzania. The Maasai lost about 60% of their pre-colonial lands. They were confined to an arid zone with uncertain rainfall and poor pastures. The British colonial government in East Africa also encouraged local peasants to expand their cultivation. As cultivation expanded, pasturelands were turned into cultivated fields. In this process, the Maasai community lost their grazing lands.