The Traditional Political System
The Banyarwanda (sing. Munyarwanda), were organized into a true monarchic state. The head of the state was a ruling monarch called the Mwami. The powers of the Mwami, however, were not complete without those of the Queen-mother who reigned with…
Discovery And Early European Occupation
The plateau is quite isolated so that the Banyarwanda, the people of Ruanda, had little contact with the outside world. No European had explored Ruanda before the German Baron von Goetzen entered Ruanda through Gisaka in 1894. Gisaka was an…
I. Remera In True Context Of Ruanda
The present work is the result of the study of a small community in Ruanda by the name of Remera. In order to situate this com-munity bath on the map and within the greater society of which it is a…
Changing Elements On Oppression
The conclusions to be drawn from the changes in one region of Rwanda are relevant for other regions as well. We have analyzed how the growing power of the state undermined kin groups, transformed patron–client ties, and created new forms…
The 1960 Commune Elections
On a national level the commune elections of 1960 marked an important gain for Hutu. The elections were to select burgomasters and councilors for the newly created communes -administrative entities designed to replace existing subchiefdoms (restructured into larger units) and…
The Hutu Uprising Of November 1959
The first blows of the revolution were struck in November 1959 in the vicinity of Kabgayi, Mission (Marangara and Ndiza chiefdoms). The igniting spark occurred on Sunday, November 1, when a gang of Tuutsi youths attacked the Hutu subchief Dominique…
The Emergence Of Political Parties
Organizedpolitical activity in Kinyaga emerged only slowly in the 1950s. Political cleavages increasingly came to be based on ethnic identity, but initially they were more precisely drawn along class lines many "poor Tuutsi" considered themselves part of the populist movement.…
Pre-Independence Politics And Protest
The Rwandan Revolution was most visible in the heroic events of central Rwanda-the focal point of the kingdom. In many renditions the Revolution has come to be represented in the actions of a visible and articulate Hutu leadership at the…
European Settlers In Kinyaga And Kivu
Theestablishmentof European settlers in Kinyaga began during the 1920s. The largest employer during this period was the Protanag Company (Société Coloniale des Produits Tannants et Agricoles), a large undertaking whose staff incIuded nineteen Europeans in 1929. Protanag initially planted coffee,…
Belgian Colonial Economic Policies
Like colonialadministrations elsewhere, the Belgian administration in Ruanda-Urundi had to confront the problem of how the colony was to support itself; obtaining revenues to support the colonial enterprise became particularly critical during the global economic crisis of the 1930s. Under…