Bantu state in southeast Africa from c. 15th century to 1961
The
Kingdom of Rwanda
was a Nile source sovereign state in the former Kitara expanse. Now the modern-day
Republic of Rwanda
, It was ruled by a
Tutsi
monarchy.
[1]
It was one of the oldest and the most centralized kingdoms in the
Central
and
East Africa
region.
[2]
It was later annexed under
German
and
Belgian colonial rule
while retaining some of its autonomy. The Tutsi monarchy was abolished in 1961 after ethnic violence erupted between the
Hutu
and the Tutsi during the
Belgian-inspired Hutu Revolution
which started in 1959.
[3]
After a
1961 referendum
, Rwanda became a Hutu-dominated republic under discreet supervisory of the Belgian overseers but still received its independence from Belgium in 1962.
[4]
After the Belgian-led Hutu revolution, the last ruling monarch,
Kigeli V
, was exiled and he eventually settled in the
United States
. A
court in exile
has been maintained outside Rwanda ever since the abolition of the monarchy. As of 9 January 2017, the current proclaimed
King of Rwanda
is
Yuhi VI
.
[5]
History
[
edit
]
In what is estimated to be the late bronze age, one kingdom, under King
Gihanga
, managed to incorporate several of its close neighbors (Singa, Gesera and Zigaba)
[6]
establishing the Kingdom of Rwanda. The
Hutu
majority, 82?85% of the population, were mostly free peasants while the kings, known as
Mwami
, were exclusively
Tutsis
of the
Nyiginya clan
. There was, equally, considerable intermingling between the Hutu, Tutsi, and Twa.
Before the 18th century, it was believed that the Tutsis held military leadership power while the Hutus possessed mainly agricultural skills.
The position of Queen Mother was an important one, managing the royal household and being heavily involved in court politics.
[7]
When their sons ascended to the throne, mothers would take a new name. This would be composed of
nyira-
, meaning "mother of", followed by, usually, the regal name of the new king; only kings named
Mutara
do not follow this convention, their mothers taking the name
Nyiramavugo
(mother of good counsel).
[8]
Under Mwami Rwabugiri, Rwanda became an
expansionist
state.
The borders of the kingdom were rounded out in the late 19th century by Mwami Rwabugiri, who is regarded as Rwanda’s greatest king. By 1900, Rwanda was a unified state with a centralized military structure.
[9]
Owing to its isolation, Rwanda's engagement with the
Indian Ocean slave trade
was extremely limited until the end of the 19th century. The first Europeans did not arrive in Rwanda until 1894, making Rwanda one of the last regions of
Africa
to have been explored by Europeans.
[10]
In 1897, Germany established a presence in Rwanda with the formation of an alliance with the king, beginning the
colonial era
.
[11]
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"Rwanda - Cultural institutions | Britannica"
.
www.britannica.com
.
- ^
"Colonialism of Central Africa | Britannica"
.
www.britannica.com
.
- ^
"Rwanda genocide of 1994 | Britannica"
.
www.britannica.com
. 9 October 2023.
- ^
Van Schuylenbergh, Patricia (11 January 2016).
"Rwanda, Kingdom of"
.
The Encyclopedia of Empire
. John Wiley & Sons, Ltd: 1?3.
doi
:
10.1002/9781118455074.wbeoe047
.
ISBN
9781118455074
.
- ^
"Rwanda's new king named ? a father of two living on an estate near Manchester"
.
the Guardian
. 12 January 2017.
- ^
Ogot, Bethwell Allan (1984). "The Great Lakes region".
General History of Africa: Volume 4
(PDF)
. UNESCO Publishing. p. 516.
- ^
Gerard Prunier
(1995).
The Rwanda Crisis, 1959-1994
.
C. Hurst & Co.
p. 24.
ISBN
9781850652434
.
- ^
Leon Delmas (1950).
Genealogies de la noblesse (les Batutsi) du Ruanda
(in French). Vicariat Apostolique du Ruanda Kabgayi. p. 54.
le nom dynastique de leur fils, comme: Nyira-Yuhi, la mere de Yuhi-Musinga, Nyira-Kigeri, la mere de Kigeri-Rwabugiri, etc . . . Les rois du nom de Mutara devaient etre des rois pacifiques et sociologues; il leur fallait des conseillers experts pour bien gerer les interets du royaume, et le premier conseiller choisi fut la mere du roi, d'ou le nom de Nyiramavugo qui signifie : mere du bon conseil, du bon langage.
- ^
"Kingdom of Rwanda | Britannica"
.
www.britannica.com
.
- ^
De Haas, Michael (November 2019).
"MOVING BEYOND COLONIAL CONTROL? ECONOMIC FORCES AND SHIFTING MIGRATION FROM RUANDA-URUNDI TO BUGANDA, 1920?60"
.
Journal of African History
.
60
(3): 379?406.
doi
:
10.1017/S0021853719001038
.
S2CID
213049347
.
ProQuest
2321652697
. Retrieved
26 March
2022
.
- ^
Carney, J.J. (2013).
Rwanda Before the Genocide: Catholic Politics and Ethnic Discourse in the Late Colonial Era
. Oxford University Press. p. 24.
ISBN
9780199982288
.
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