Background to Genocide

 The kingdom was created in the 15 th century through the conquest of chiefdoms.  The king was called the Mwami.  The royal family was held to be descended from a god-like people called the Abechwezi, who vanished, leaving behind a single child.  The population was said to consist of three ethnic groups:

The Tutsi were cattle pastoralists. They constituted 15% of the population. They believed that they descended from pastoral invaders from the north who conquered the resident Hutu agriculturalists.

 The Hutu were agriculturalists. They attached themselves to Tutsi patrons to gain access to land and for protection, in return for crops.  They made up 85% of the population.  They were held to be shorter and darker and possessing facial features that differed from the Tutsi.

 The Twa were originally hunter-gatherers who originally traded game to agriculturalists.  They make up.275% of the population (33,000).  After losing most of their territories to agriculturalists they made their living as laborers and entertainers for the Tutsi.

 Rwanda state grows by conquest to reach its greatest extent in the late 19 th century under king Kigeri IV Rwabugiri (Ruanda’s greatest king).  1884 Germans claim Ruanda as part of Deutsch Ost-Afrika. Don’t really take control of it.  Assigned to Belgium following WWI. They rule through the monarchy.

 1959 Hutus revolt and slaughter Tutsis. Many Tutsis flee to neighboring countries.  1961 In a referendum the population votes to abolish the monarchy.  1962 Ruanda becomes independent. Cycles of killings follow.  1973 Juvénal Habyarimana seizes power in a coup.  1990 The Rwandan Patriotic Front invades northern Ruanda. Rwandan civil war begins.  April 6 th 1994 Habyarimana’s plane is shot down, initiating the genocide.