Rwanda & Imperialism
What is Imperialism?
-Imperialism: empire-building; the policy of
extending the rule and/or influence of a country over
other countries or colonies
Reasons for Imperialism
1. Cheap natural resources
2. A place to sell finished goods
3. Conversion of native to Christianity
4. Expand a nation’s power
Carving up Africa
Rwanda—A Brief History
-During the 1400s—the Tutsis (hailing from Ethiopia)
invaded present-day Rwanda and Burundi
-They conquered the Hutus
-The Hutus agreed to raise crops for the Tutsis in
exchange for protection
-The two groups lived peacefully
-They spoke the same language, intermarried and
obeyed the same godlike king
European Imperialists
1850: Catholic missionaries move into untouched
African land
1890: This and other areas become part of German
East Africa
1916: Belgium gained control of large tracts of
German land in Africa (including present-day
Rwanda)
1919: League of Nations gives Belgium authority in
Rwanda. Why?
Mistakes
-Both German and Belgium authorities turned the
Hutu-Tutsi relationship into a class system
Class system = Caste System
-Europeans historically gave the Tutsis (15%) favor
over the Hutus (85%) in matters of education, housing,
jobs, etc.
-In 1926 Belgium authorities issued identity cards
differentiating the two tribes
Resentment Soon Follows
1959: Hutus rebel, 150,000 Tutsis flee country
1962: Rwanda gains independence from Belgium
1963 & 1967: Massacre of thousands of Tutsis, many
flee
1973: Removal of Tutsis from Universities
Sept. 1993-March 1994: President Habyarimana
delays but moves closer to signing peace accords
April 6th, 1994: Habyarimana is assassinated
The Killing Begins
-On April 7th, the Rwandan Armed Forces (FAR) set
up roadblocks and go from house to house killing
Tutsis and Hutu moderates
-Thousands die on the first night
-On April 30th, 250,000 Tutsis and Hutu moderates are
killed (mainly Hutus fleeing the FAR’s advance)
No one to stop the massacre…
-United Nations does nothing as their instructions are
to “monitor”
-10 Belgium U.N. soldiers killed; Belgium troops pull
out of Rwanda
-U.N. votes to cut U.N. troops from 2,500 to 270
-U.N. refuses to send help because of cost ($$$)
-U.S. failures in Somalia caused Clinton to be
standoffish to the Rwandan situation
-Over 800,000 Rwandans die
Putting it into Perspective
-Population of Medford—4,500
-Over 800,000 Rwandans dead
800,000/4,500 = ????
~178—That’s every person in Medford
killed 178 times…
Think about the effect of Imperialism