Imperialism In Rwanda

Rwanda, a small landlocked country in central Africa, has a long and rich history of differences and conflicts. One of the most known historic events of this region is the Rwandan Genocide which took 800,000 lives over the course of four months (Britannica). The conflict between two tribal groups, the Hutu and Tutsis, had been accumulating for decades before it finally reached its breaking point. The Rwandan genocide can be attributed to three main factors: Belgian colonial policies, tribal tensions between the Hutus and Tutsis, and the assassination of the Rwandan president.

Before European colonization Rwanda was united under a total Tutsi government. All of the people, although different tribes, spoke the same language, had the same customs,
(Belgian Colonies) This transfer in power resulted in violence when extremist Tutsis attacked Hutu leader Dominique Mbonyumutwa. In response to this Hutus killed hundreds of Tutsis.(World History) This Hutu revolution forced as many as 300,000 Tutsis to flee Rwanda, making them an even smaller minority (History).

Soon thereafter in 1961 the Hutus gained control of the government. A Hutu coup in January 1961, which was carried out with approval from the Belgian colonial authorities, officially disposed of the Tutsi king and abolished the Hutu monarchy. Rwanda became a republic and an all-Hutu provisional government was established. (Britannica) After an U.N referendum that same year, Belgium officially granted independence to Rwanda in July 1962 (History).

The transfer of power from Tutsi to Hutu was not peaceful at all. Between 1959 and 1961 around 20,000 Tutsi were killed, and many more fled the country. By early 1964 at least 150,000 Tutsis were living in nearby countries. Additional bouts of tension and violence flared periodically and led to mass killings in 1963, 1967, and 1973.
On the evening of April 6, 1994, a plane carrying Habyarimana and Burundian president Cyprien Ntaryamira was shot down over the capitol (Britannica). Within an hour of his death roadblocks were put up throughout Kigali as militia and death squads proceeded to kill moderate Hutus and Tutsis whose names were on pre-prepared lists.(Global) The Hutus also had another goal in mind: to eliminate moderate Hutu and Tutsi politicians. The next day prime minister Agathe Uwilingiyimana, a moderate Hutu, was assassinated. In addition to this the ten Belgian peacekeepers that were guarding her were killed. The overall goal was to allow the formation of a government made up of Hutu extremists.