Abstract
The Twa—hunter-gatherer pygmies—were the first people to inhabit Rwanda. They were followed by the Hutu, who arrived at some point between AD 500 and 1100. The final group to migrate to Rwanda was the Tutsi around 1400. Their ownership of cattle and combat skills gave them social, economic and political control of the country. A feudalistic system developed: the Tutsi lent cows to the Hutu in return for labour and military service. At the apex was the Tutsi king, the mwami (pl., abami), who was believed to be of divine origin. The abami consolidated their power by reducing the power of neighbouring chiefs. Kigeri IV (reigned 1853–95) established the borders of Rwanda in the 19th century.
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Further Reading
Braeckman, C., Rwanda: Histoire d’un Génocide. Paris, 1994
Dorsey, L., Historical Dictionary of Rwanda. Metuchen (NJ), 1995
Fegley, Randall, Rwanda. [Bibliography] ABC-Clio, Oxford and Santa Barbara (CA), 1993
Gourevitch, P., We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed With Our Families. Picador, London, 1998
Prunier, G., The Rwanda Crisis: History of a Genocide. Farnborough, 1995
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© 2004 Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited
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Turner, B. (2004). Rwanda. In: Turner, B. (eds) The Statesman’s Yearbook 2005. The Statesman’s Yearbook. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230271333_248
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230271333_248
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
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