Ideology
...Mid-semester we watched a movie that opened my eyes to a whole other world. The movie was called Hotel Rwanda. The movie was based on true events that took place during genocidal violence that occurred in Rwanda between the Hutu and Tutsi ethnic groups in 1994. The Hutu military and militias killed almost one million Tutsis in a period of barely three months. I can honestly say that this film opened my eyes to what was going on in the world around me. It baffled me to think that something of this caliber occurred so recently and I had never even heard of it. After learning about the Rwandan genocide I was fascinated by it. Ever since then I have felt a connection with Rwanda which is why I chose Rwanda for this paper. Hopefully, this paper will make you as fascinated as I am with the country of Rwanda.
The first inhabitants of Rwanda were called the Twa, not the Tutsi or Hutu. In A.D. 1000 the Twa were outnumbered by the Hutus. In the 15th century, the Tutsis migrated into the area, and gained dominance over the Hutu majority. (Chretien 1-5) A single Tutsi-ruled state occupied most of present-day Rwanda in the late 18th century. The state was ruled by a king who controlled regionally based chiefs who were also Tutsi. Since they had so much power they dominated the Hutus, who made up the majority of the population. In the early 19th century Rwanda reached the height of its power under kings Mutara II and Kigeri IV. (Keane 25-31) Kigeri established a strong enough army that prohibited most foreigners from entering Rwanda.
Despite having a strong army, in 1890, Rwanda accepted German rule without resistance. Rwanda then became part of German East Africa. Despite being part of German East Africa, the Germans had virtually no influence over the affairs of Rwanda. Belgian forces occupied Rwanda in 1916, during World War I, and in 1919 it became part...
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