Rwanda

The present day Republic of Rwanda (République du Rwanda) was originally inhabited by the Twa people, but a series of migrations beginning in 700 BCE brought the Hutu and Tutsi tribes into the region. The Kingdom of Banyarwanda (or Kingdom of Rwanda) was founded by the Tutsi in the 15th century and reigned over the surrounding region into the 19th century, when pressure from European colonial powers forced the kingdom into decline. By the terms of the Berlin Conference, a territory known as Ruanda-Urundi (comprising present day Rwanda and neighboring Burundi) was established and placed under the administration of Germany as part of German East Africa. Following the First World War, the territory came under Belgian administration as part of a mandate from the League of Nations in 1919. Both nations perpetuated the historic class system which favored the Tutsi, a fact that would prove a significant cause of ethnic violence that would plague the region into the late 20th century.

As most African nations moved towards independence in the 1950s, two rival groups emerged in Rwanda: a Tutsi-supported movement advocating maintenance of the status quo, and a Hutu-dominated movement which sought an end to what they viewed as Tutsi-feudalism. Belgium ultimately supported the Hutu movement and tensions rose between the tribal factions, culminating in the Rwandan Revolution or "wind of destruction" which raged from 1959 into the 1960s and resulted in tens of thousands of Tutsis killed and many more fleeing the country. Belgian military intervention prevented further violence, and in 1962 the traditional monarchy was abolished, Rwanda and Burundi became separate nations, and democratic elections were held. Cycles of violence would continue until 1973, when Juvénal Habyarimana staged a military coup d'etat and assumed the presidency. During his reign, violence against the Tutsis declined considerably and the nation improved its economic status.