Rwanda Imperialism Essay

The Hutu and Tutsi were once peaceful people, who together made up the majority of Rwanda. In the 1800s when Imperialism and Industrialization were popular trends in Europe, Rwanda was colonized. The colonial occupation of Rwanda by Germany, and later Belgium instilled pro-euro ideology in the Tutsi tribe which quickly changed the peaceful mentality of the country. The next century was full of power shifts and tribal violence. However, no man could have predicted the events that took place on April 6th. On that fateful day in 1994, centuries worth of boiling racial tension finally exploded when the president of Rwanda, Juvenal Habyarimana was assassinated. What ensued was the most chaotic and controversial event of the late 20th century and one of the most tragic

events ever. This event is known as the Rwandan Genocide. The violence was atrocious and unexplainable. Tutsi children, pregnant women, and sickly elders were not spared of the “ethnic cleansing”. In the mere 100 days of the conflict, over 800,000 Tutsis were slaughtered along 200,000 allies of the Tutsi. The effects of the Genocide were felt all over Central and Eastern Africa. There was a sudden influx of refugees from front-line areas specifically Burundi and Congo. It is undeniable that colonization played a role in this conflict, but to what extent should colonialism be held accountable for the Genocide? The colonial occupation of Rwanda elevated tensions between Hutus and Tutsis due to crude tactics employed by the Westerners used to divide and conquer. However the actions of the Hutu cannot be justified by only colonialism, therefore only making colonialism partially responsible.

Prior to German and Belgian occupation of Rwanda, Rwanda was a stable state, where prejudice rarely existed. In the book We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed with Our Families: Stories from Rwanda written by the author Philip Gourevitch just four years after the Genocide, he goes into depth about the prehistory of the Rwanda. He states “ One of the most surprising phenomena of Rwanda’s human geography is surely the contrast between the plurality of races and the sentiment of national unity. The natives of this country genuinely have the feelings of forming but one people” (Gourevitch 54). The author conveys that, although there were a vast array of ethnic groups in Rwanda, the dream of national unity was alive and well. Because the Hutu Tutsi relations were healthy, it is inferable that the racial tension was caused by Belgian and German Colonials. Of course, like any other state, Rwanda did have a hierarchical system. The Tutsi made up most of the upper class and were herdsman. The Hutu were the lower class and for the most part live by farming, however these classification were blurred by intermarriage and by the custom of allowing people to become honorary members of the other group ( HISTORY).

By 1914, Rwanda becomes a Belgian colony, and Belgian missionaries begin to instill European Ideology within the country.

The Belgians initially favored the Tutsis due to their obstructed views of race. According to the Belgians, “ The Tutsi were supposedly a Hamitic” (Encyclopedia), which indicates that Tutsi were “more Caucasian” therefore “more European”. These findings were concluded by skull measuring, and nose analysis (Gourevitch 55). As time passed, the Belgians began to emphasize the division of the two tribes.“From 1933 everyone in Ruanda-Urundi is issued with a racial identity card, defining them as Hutu (85%) or Tutsi (14%)” (HISTORY). As observed in the previous quotation, it is noteworthy that the aristocratic class (the Tutsi) were a quite large minority. This did evidently did not factor into the Belgians decision to make the Tutsi the ruling class. It also displays that race science trumps all other metrics in the imperialist eyes. The Belgians also possessed unrelenting political power within Rwanda as they were able to dispose of “a Mwami they considered overly independent and installed a new one, Mutara Rudahigwa, who had been carefully selected for his compliance”( Gourevitch

56).

In 1962, Rwanda is granted independence, and the “The first presidential election in Rwanda is won by Grégoire Kayibanda, the leader of the interim provisional government. The name of his party, the Parti du Mouvement de l'Emancipation du Peuple Hutu (Party for Hutu Emancipation)” (HISTORY). The party title was indicative of the policies made during Kayibanda’s reign. In 1973, General Juvenal Habyarimana (1937–1994), a Hutu, overthrew Rwanda's President, beginning a twenty-year dictatorship. Habyarimana and his close circle of advisers favored the Hutus, particularly the elite. Habyarimana established rigid ethnic quotas and expelled Tutsis from politics, government, business, and schools. Many Tutsis left Rwanda for neighboring countries. (Global)