Background to Genocide

The kingdom was created in the 15th century through the conquest of chiefdoms.

The king was called the Mwami. The royal family was held to be

descended from a god-like people called the Abechwezi, who vanished, leaving behind a single child.

The population was said to consist of three ethnic groups:

The Tutsi were cattle pastoralists. They constituted 15% of the population.

They believed that they descended from pastoral invaders from the north who conquered the resident Hutu agriculturalists.

The Hutu were agriculturalists. They attached themselves to Tutsi patrons to gain access to land and for protection, in return for crops.

They made up 85% of the population.

They were held to be shorter and darker and possessing facial features that differed from the Tutsi.

The Twa were originally hunter-gatherers who originally traded game to agriculturalists.

They make up .275% of the population (33,000).

After losing most of their territories to agriculturalists they made their living as laborers and entertainers for the Tutsi.

Rwanda state grows by conquest to reach its greatest extent in the late 19th century under king Kigeri IV Rwabugiri (Ruanda’s greatest king).

1884 Germans claim Ruanda as part of Deutsch Ost-Afrika. Don’t really take control of it.

1916-18 Assigned to Belgium following WWI. They rule through the monarchy.

1959 Hutus revolt and slaughter Tutsis. Many Tutsis flee to neighboring countries.

1961 In a referendum the population votes to abolish the monarchy.

1962 Ruanda becomes independent. Cycles of killings follow.

1973 Juvénal Habyarimana seizes power in a coup.

1990 The Rwandan Patriotic Front invades northern Ruanda. Rwandan civil war begins.

April 6th 1994 Habyarimana’s plane is shot down, initiating the genocide.