Abridged Rwandan History

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[REDACTED] [REDACTED] Subject Date An Abridged History of Rwanda Rwanda is a small country located on the Eastern side of Africa that is south of Uganda and west of Tanzania. The country is mostly inhabited by two different ethnic groups, the Hutu and the Tutsi. These two groups have had tension between each other ever since Rwanda was established. Rwanda is most widely known for its mass genocide between the two groups that lasted between April 6, 1994 and the beginning of July, 1994. (Background) In the 1300's, the Hutus migrated from the North into Rwanda for the first time. They established small kingdoms throughout the land that each centered around a certain family clan. In the next hundred years, small groups of the Tutsi people migrated into Rwanda from the Nile River basin. Even though there were more Hutus than Tutsis in Rwanda at that point, the skilled warriors and cattle herding Tutsi people were able to gain economic and political power over time. In 1884 when Africa was being divided up by the major European powers, Germany received Rwanda as a colony. (Nardo 6) Germany planned to turn Rwanda into a place of free labor. They taught the people of Rwanda to grow essential cash crops. In addition, Germany also taught the Rwandan kings how to rule and sent missionaries to preach the ideas of Christianity to the population. After World War I, Germany was forced to give up Rwanda in the Treaty of Versailles. Belgium became the new owners of Rwanda. The Belgians found Rwanda's political system at the time to be confusing, so they completely reformed it to better fit Belgium's political systems and understandings. The Belgians removed many chiefs from power and got rid of Hutu lords. The Belgians believed that the Tutsi were racially superior to the Hutu and thus granted them the political positions in the colony. After World War II, the Rwandan

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