Rwanda

A: Point of view from that of a colonial power

Rwanda is a region in east-central Africa occupied by two main Indigenous groups: the Hutus and the Tutsis. The Tutsis, traditionally, held positions of power but the Hutus had a lower social status.

In the scramble for Africa, Germany claimed Rwanda as its own territory. The Germans pursued the policy of indirect rule through the governing of the Tutsi monarch (Mwami) and his chiefs. This had the effect of continuing the pre-colonial transformation towards more of centralization and increase in Tutsi’s chiefly power. Mutual relations were formed and this resulted in the Germans using the Tutsi king, Musinga, to establish their authority in the northwest of the colony and Musinga strengthened his position in Rwanda through the Germans.

The Germans, reasoning from the theory of Social Darwinism, were impressed by the ruling Tutsis. They believed that the Tutsi’s political and economic success was evident to their fitness in the struggle for survival. Because of the Tutsis’ superiority over Hutus, the Germans concluded that they were like colonist themselves. They appointed the Tutsis key positions in the colony which all the more reinforced the traditional distinction between the two groups. The Europeans made it known to the Hutus that they were inferior to the Tutsis. This inflated the Tutsis’ cultural ego and caused a resentful inferiority complex for the Hutus.

After