Age Of Imperialism: Understanding The Rwandan Genocide

Rwanda is a landlocked country in East Africa. Like many other countries in Africa, Rwanda was colonized by European leaders during the Age of Imperialism. Rwanda was once under German rule but after the First World War Rwanda was put under Belgian rule. While under foreign rule ethnic tensions between Tutsi and the Hutu peoples were exploited. These ethnic tensions were never resolved.

The Rwandan genocide was the systematic killing of millions of Tutsis and moderate Hutus by the Hutu people. The genocide officially started after a plane carrying the President of Rwanda - who was a Hutu- was shot down. As a result of the Genocide millions of Tutsis were brutally murdered, raped and the HIV rate shot up. The fact that the Rwandan Genocide

However to understand Imperialism one would have to start from the Industrial Revolution because all of these events are connected in a way and understanding the connection between the two events is imperative to understanding the Rwandan Genocide and much of African civilization today.

In 1750 the steam engine was created. The invention of the steam engine completely revolutionized the labor force. Factories were built and now items such as guns and steamboats could be mass produced. Soon after the Industrial Revolution started in Great Britain other countries began modernizing. In the near future, European leaders would acquire a need for more raw materials. This need for raw materials soon led to the age of

Before colonization, the Hutu peoples were farmers, while Tutsis were cattle herders. The Tutsis were seen as the ones with more power. Like many other European powers in Africa, the Belgians used the tactic to “divide and conquer” in order to successfully rule their new colony. The Belgians saw the ethnic divide and decided to utilize it. The Belgians determined that the “Tutsi were more Caucasian and thus more fit to rule” and put them to power. This deepened Ethnic tensions between the Hutus and the Tutsis because the Tutsis were the privileged minority and received benefits such as western education from Belgian rule while the Hutus were enslaved and treated with little to no respect. According to Laura the granddaughter of Hutus the Belgians divided the Hutus and the Tutsis further by using ‘scientific racism’ like saying that the Tutsis were taller and therefore better. This planted the seeds for the Rwandan Genocide because the Belgians created a distinct separation between the two