The Extension of Royal Power to the North
During the months when the Court was beginning its attacks on clients of the Europeans in central Rwanda, Fathers at the northern mission of Rwaza had been experiencing growing difficulties with their "Bakiga" neighbors (The people of these regions did…
The Missionaries, the Court, and the Local community, 1904-1910
Inkehwe ikubitirwa mukwayo. In the struggle for power at the Court, Kabare could argue that although Ruhinankiko had mustered European support at critical junctures, he had not managed to restrain the growth of European power. While the Court was occupied…
Power Struggles at the Court: Kabare and Ruhinankiko
Since the arrival of the Europeans, the Court, aware of its own limitations, had dealt skillfully with the problems and advantages created by the presence of the powerful strangers. Unable to ban the Fathers, it had restricted their impact by…
The Court, the Church, and the Colonial Administration: The Mpumbika Affair
With the uprising put down and no other crisis, of similar magnitude in view, the Court tried to discourage the interest in the missions it had been fostering for six months. This was easily done with the Tutsi of the…
Gisaka, the Church, and the Court
The Court had been all the more anxious to settle the Njangwe case because at this time it was being faced with serious unrest in Gisaka. In 1897 Ramsay had remarked on the hostility between Rwandan rulers and the people…
The Arrival of the White Fathers
Unlike the notables of the central kingdom, other subjects of the mwami overcame their repugnance to the ibisimba and sought protection from them. When the German explorer von Gôtzen had visited Rwanda, he had traveled through the eastern part of…
The Catholic Church,the German Administration,and the Court Of Nyanza
Although the attention of the Court was focused mostly on its internal struggles, Kanjogera and her brothers carefully watched the installation of European soldiers in the southwestern corner of Rwanda. Since the border between the Congo Free State and German…
The Fall Of The Reign Of Rutarindwa
As Rwabugiri grew older, he became concerned with providing for an orderly succession that would guarantee the gains in power and territory he had made. Hoping to break the pattern of children being installed as bami, he ordered that his…
The Troubled Accession of Musinga
Near the end of February 1897, Musinga and Kanjogera were officially enthroned, the son taking the reign name of Yuhi V, the mother, Nyirayuhi. Those biru who had opposed the illegitimate transfer of power had already been eliminated by Kanjogera,…
The Rwandan State at Rwabugiri’s Death
The political system left by Rwabugiri was extraordinarily complex and flexible. In the most intensively governed areas of the kingdom, batware, banyabutaka, and banyamukenke shared authority, the first collecting ikoro taxes from men according to lineage, the others controlling the…