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Germany colonizes Rwanda
Gustav Adolf von Götzen crossed the Kagera river near the Rusumo falls. Making them the first Europeans to set foot on Rwanda. The falls gained international fame during the 1994 Rwandan genocide, as thousands of dead bodies flowed underneath the bridge while a simultaneous stream of refugees crossed over it, fleeing into Tanzania to escape the fighting. -
Period: to
Events Leading to the Genocide in Rwanda
In understanding the struggle in Rwanda:- People and their competing needs
- The role of strategic action
- Resources and power
- Institutions
- Authority and sovereignty
- Political identities
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Belgium's control of Rwanda
The Belgians also entered Rwanda via the falls, when they took over the country during World War I. The Germans eventually had to give up its claim of Rwanda after signing the Treaty of Versailles in 1919. -
Belgians organize a Census
This is a mandate that every Rwandan be issued an identity card classifying them as either Tutsi, Hutu, or Twa. Tutsis, the minority 9% of the total population
Hutus were the commoners that consists 85%
Twa consisted 1% of the population -
UN Convention
Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide After WW2, the UN passes a resolution which both defines genocide and declares it a crime under international law. -
Hutu rebellion begins against the Tutsis & Belgians
What began as a peasant revolt in November 1959 eventually transformed itself into an organized political movement aimed at the overthrow of the monarchy and the vesting of full political power in Hutu hands. -
Tutsi Monarchy is abolished
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Rwanda gains its Independence
At the insistence of the United Nations trusteeship council,
Belgium granted its Independence
