Rwanda is a small country located in central Africa. With a total of 9,633 square miles this country has seen a great deal of conflict between ethnic groups, causing this country to be known for the genocide that has occurred. The earliest colonist of Rwanda was the Twa, later joined by the Hutu and then the Tutsi. The ethnic differences between the Hutu and the Tutsi are what sparked the genocide. In this paper I will discuss the early inhabits of this country, what led to such a destructive genocide and the outcome that brought the country to where it is today.

            Starting with the pre-colonial era, the Twa originally inhabited Rwanda. They were considered Pygmy people and sustained life by hunting and gathering. The Hutus soon arrived in Rwanda, out populating the Twa . The Hutu were short and square, they were regarded as agricultural people and began clearing the forests of Rwanda for their permanent settlements. The Tutsis then migrated into the area around the 14^th century dominating over both Twa and Hutu. The Tutsi were opposite compared to the Hutu and Twa, they were tall, thin, and raised cattle. Although the Hutu and Tutsi are two separate ethnic groups they are sometimes hard to distinguish for the reason that they speak the same language, often have intermarriages and share similar cultural characteristics. Unfortunately their distinctive differences led to the killing of over one million people.

            The Tutsi and Hutu had categorized themselves into small states but the Tutsi created a hierarchy led by a king, or also known as “Mwami”. The king was in control of hundreds of estates. Most people under Mwami were also Tutsi, very few were Hutu. During this time it is believed that Hutu and Tutsi were on good terms with one another.

            During the colonial era European explores first visited Rwanda in 1854. In 1890 they accepted German overrule and became part of the German East Africa. It was not until 1907 when a German administrative officer was assigned to Rwanda but the Germans did not have a voice in the counties affairs. They also did not try to commence any economic development. Belgian troops occupied Rwanda during World War 1 and in 1916, after the war, it became a Belgian League of Nations mandate of Ruanda-Urundi.

            The Belgians favored the Tutsi for their larger skulls, larger size, and skin color. For these characteristics they thought the Tutsi were from Caucasian ancestry, thus they were superior to Hutus and therefore were given more power. The Tutsi started to believe the Belgians, they began to think of them selves as superior and were not afraid to show it. In 1931 ethnic identity cards were mandated. The Hutus began to see the truth behind the ethnic identity cards and realized that a change needed to be made. They slowly gained respect from the Belgium’s and were given secret ballots in the electoral process. The Catholic Church also began to see the mistreatment that the Tutsi placed upon the Hutus and began encouraging equality. Tutsis were in jeopardy of losing their position of the rulers.

            In 1954 Charles made drastic changes to provide equality. The land was distributed between the Hutu and Tutsi, leaving the Tutsi very aggravated and led to the assassination Charles in 1959. The Tutsi lost their power completely when King Kigeri V fled to Uganda. Then the angry Tutsi attempted to kill Gregoire Kayibanda, the leader of the Hutu political party. This caused the beginning of the genocide with an estimated amount of 20,000 to 100,000 Tutsis killed by Hutus.

            Rwanda became independent in 1962 under the power of the Hutu. The Tutsis that were not exiled to neighboring countries were barred from having any political power. The new Rwanda was made up of Hutus and Catholics. The remaining Tutsis were given quotas, allowing only 10% to go to school and work. In 1964 another system of inequality was implemented, Hutu could murder Tutsi and not be prosecuted. This caused more Tutsi to flee to surrounding countries. Life for Tutsi continued to get worse; they were forced out of their jobs and ultimately put into exile.

            An airplane carrying the president of Rwanda and Burundi was shot down on April 6, 1994, killing both presidents. After this incident the military and militia groups began capturing and murdering the Tutsi population. In 100 days around 800,000 Tutsi were killed. The Tutsi acted back, bringing in the Rwandan Patriotic Front creating a 14-week civil war. The Civil War ended in July 1994 with the Tutsi victorious, causing 1.7 million Hutu to flee into neighboring country Zaire.

            The tables have turned for Rwanda and they are trying to gain unity among each other. In order to see peace prosper, the government has implemented a National Unity and Reconciliation Commission to oversea reconciliation process. In May 2003, 93% of Rwandans voted in favor new constitution that instituted a balance of political power between Hutu and Tutsi. This will keep seats in parliament equal and minimize ethnic hatred. Rwanda is heading into the future with hopes of equality among ethnic groups.