HISA04H3 Lecture Notes - Lecture 10: Hutu Power, Tutsi, Hutu
Document Summary
African great lakes region- rwanda from colonization to genocide. Rwanda no access to the sea. Great lakes of africa surrounded by republic democratic of congo (formerly zaire), Tanzania, burundi, rwanda, uganda (which are all modern political entities) The borders established do not necessarily reflect human geography. Establishment of modern political borders led to the hardening of ethnic identity: had to live with imperialism after the world war. Legacy of colonization = an important factor in the genocide in the 1990s. Hutu majority turned against the tutsi minority in rwanda. Economic activity: agriculture (for family and extended family), tea plantation. Had one of the densest populations in the world putting pressure on the land. Population was divided: 90% hutu, 10% tutsi, 1% twa: tutsi = higher class, hutu = low class. Names of the groups existed before the arrival of the europeans. Difference was hardened during the colonial period. Initial difference between the groups was social, not ethnic.
