Hutu Tribe of Southern Africa

Before the ninteenth century, Rwanda and Burundi's three main clans; the Hutu, Twa, and Tutsi, lived in peace. Several equal kingdoms were created throughout villages of all the clans mainly giving power to the Hutu and Tutsi. Finally, a Tutsi king named Kigeli IV began conquering other kingdoms, and soon had majority control of Rwanda. He split apart the clans into distinct social classes based on jobs with Tutsi being the highest power, followed by the Hutus. The breaking of these communities made imperialistic conquering much easier.

 Germany was the first to venture into Hutu territory in 1899, establishing allieship with King Kigeli and making deep progress into taking over the land. After a few failing Kings and Queens (Bentley, 496) , Germany moved into present day Burundi and Rwanda. German colonization consisted mostly of missionaries, political officials advising the Hutu government, and agricultural fiends adding cash crops like rubber, cotton and coffee among the Hutu's prized plants. Local kings used the power and technology of the German explorers to do the dirty work behind the scenes of the government; enforcing taxes, pushing laborers to their limits, and slaughtering enemies. The Belgians conquered German lands in Rwanda and Burundi, overthrowing Germany in 1916.

Belgian Rule started in 1919 officially, with some Belgian missionaries creating ties with Hutu peoples as early as 1900. Belgian officials kept the cash crop economy flowing, using cruel punishment to motivate workers. Tutsis were favored among European settlers, causing tension between the tribes when an identification system was created to distinguish between the two races(Rwanda Gateway). Rwanda became an independent state in 1962. Most European imperialists came to Hutu lands to gain money from taxes, grow cash crops, and gain cheap labor.

European control lasted over sixty years in Rwanda and Burundi, leaving a large new world impact on the rural agricultural society of the hutus. Hutu people gained more efficient technology in farming and with the German gift of bananas and coffee, a new cash crop to export for profit. Hutu people also gained the religion of Christianity from Belgian and German missionaries, converting over 80% of the population of Rwanda and Burundi and producing Christian schools. Also impacted by European imperialists was the tension between the Hutu and Tutsi tribes. Tutsis were being favored by the government and had always been known as cattle herders, a higher job title than most Hutu farmers, "Banyarwanda who possessed ten or more cows were automatically registered as Batutsi and their descendants as such whereas those with less were registered as Bahutu." (Colonial Rwanda, Rwanda Gateway). Hatred was formed when the discrimination suddenly switched to a bias against Tutsis when Hutu Kings began being pushed into the Rwanda government, pushing heridity of Tutsi leaders off kilter.  Eventually this tension led to the 1990's mass genocide between the Hutu's and Tutsi's when Belgian and German authority had fled the country.