 Located in East-
Central Africa
 Landlocked, but
located on Lake Kivu
 Well known for its
lush countryside and
arable land
 Hutu population first arrived from Congo in the 10th
Century (900s)
 Tutsis arrived in the 15th Century and conquered the
Hutus (1400s)
 Tutsis created a feudal system
 Hutus became serfs
 Tutsis maintained their superiority and feudal system
until the arrival of the Europeans in the 19th Century
(1800s)
 The difference between the two would come to focus
on wealth, determined by number cows
 Traders first arrived in 1858
 Germans arrived in 1890
after the Berlin Conference
 The Mwami, or Tutsi kings,
accepted Germans without a
fight
 Germans ruled the
territory until 1918
 Belgians appointed as the
protector by the League of
Nations
 The Tutsi kings were allowed to continue to rule
 Tutsis represented only 15% of the population
 Only Tutsi males were educated
 Coffee was established as a cash crop
 ID cards were required to be carried at all times
 Made it impossible to change from Hutu to Tutsi based on wealthy
 Hutu resistance was violently suppressed – amputation was a
standard punishment
 Hutus began speaking out against inequalities in the
1950s
 The death of the king prompted many Hutus to rebel
 Hutus began fighting against Tutsis throughout the
country
 Hutus successfully overthrew the government and
gained control
 Beginnings of independence
 1960 – Elections were held after
the Hutu Revolution
 Gregoire Kayibanda was elected
Prime Minister
 1961 – Parliament abolished the
Tutsi monarchy and declared
Rwanda to be a republic
 July 1, 1962 – Belgium is pressured
by the UN to grant Rwanda its
independence
 Kayibanda served as President
and was re-elected in ‘65 and ‘69
 1964 – Exiled Tutsis invade Rwanda and attempt coup
 Hutu army defeats rebels and respond by killing Tutsis
 1973 – President Kayibanda is overthrow in a military
coup by Juvenal Habyarimana
 Habyarimana operates as a dictator
 1990 –Rwandan Patriotic Front, led by Paul Kagame
(Tutsi), attacks to gain control of the government
 1993 – UN brokers a deal to share power between the
two and peacekeepers are sent to Rwanda
 Directions: With a partner, brainstorm the answers to
the following questions:
1.
What is the historical relationship between the Hutus
and the Tutsis?
2.
What in Rwanda’s history could have contributed to
the genocide?
3.
What event do you think was the most influential in
the years before the genocide?
 April 1994 – President Habyarimana’s
plane is shot down
 Systematic killing of Tutsis and moderate Hutus begins
immediately
 Rwandan Patriotic Front begins to fight against Hutu
Army
 Country dissolves into
civil war
 Hutus flee Rwanda for
neighboring Burundi and
the Congo
http://www.millecollines.net/
Paul Kagame
preparing to vote
 UN troops remained until 1996
 Tutsis and Hutus continued to fight over the borders of the
Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda
 May 2003 – A new constitution was ratified
 August 2003 – RPF leader Paul Kagame is elected president
of Rwanda
 Kagame has been accused of censoring opposition
 2008 GDP Per Capita = $427
 64% literacy rate
 The average student is in school until the age of 9
 Average primary school has 66 students for every teacher
 17% urban population, 83% rural
 2.1% population growth rate per year
 Average life expectancy =41 years of age
 Doctors = 1 per 10,000 people
Directions: With a partner, brainstorm the answers to
the following questions
1.
Is Rwanda Developed, Developing, or Least
Developed?
2. How has Rwanda’s history affected its current
status?
3. What is the biggest problem facing Rwanda
today?
With a partner/small group: Identify at least 2
problems that Rwanda has suffered as a result of
imperialism – Be sure to identify how it is connected to
imperialism!