Kingdom of Rwanda , traditional East African state, now Republic of Rwanda . The area is believed to have been settled by Hutu sometime between the 5th and 11th centuries and then from the Tutsi from the 14th century. The Tutsi, a pastoral people, dominated the Hutu, who were farmers. According to tradition, Ruganzu I Bwimba, a Tutsi leader, founded 15th or 16th century a kingdom in the Bwanacambwe region near Kigali . What is now central Rwanda was absorbed in the 16th century, and the outlying Hutu Municipalities were subdued by the US mwami ("King") Ruganzu II Ndori in the 17th century. The borders of the kingdom were rounded in the late 19th century by Kigeri IV Rwabugiri who is considered Rwanda's greatest king. Around 1900, Rwanda was a unified state with a centralized military structure.
Britannica Quiz Destination Africa:Fact or Fiction? Is Africa's northernmost point further north than Europe's southernmost point? See if your geographical knowledge points north or south on this journey through Africa. The Germans claimed Rwanda from 1890 as part Deutsch-Ostafrikas but never really controlled it. After the WWI it together with the neighboring Burundi commissioned Belgium as part of the League of Nations Mandates (later the Trust Domain the United Nations ) by Rwanda-Urundi . The Belgians ruled through traditional kings but encouraged the rise of the Hutu underclass. In 1959 a war broke out between the Tutsi and the Hutu, and the Mwami Kigeri V has been forced into exile. He was deposed and in January 1961 Rwanda was declared a republic. it became independent on July 1, 1962.
