Germany in Rwanda

The first know contact between Rwanda and a European nation was with Germany in 1894. Germany initially ventured into Rwanda because they controlled much of east Africa at the time. A man by the name of Count Von Gotzen visited King Rwabugiri who was the King of Rwanda at the current time. Just a year after Von Gotzen visited the King, Rwabugiri died. After this happened, Rwanda as a nation was a little bit up in the air and the Germans took over the country and had control of Rwanda until the start of the first World War in 1914. As a reaction to the Germans invading Belgium at the start of WW1, Belgium decided to take Rwanda out of the hands of the Germans.

 At the time, Belgium was occupying the Belgium Congo right next to Rwanda. Up until 1924, the Belgians were in control of Rwanda and were granted official authority of Rwanda by the League of Nations after WW1. The Belgians remained in control of Rwanda until 1962. The Belgians had a huge impact on the nation of Rwanda. The largest impact was the distinction they made between the Tutsi and Hutu people. They favored the Tutsi people, which made up 85% of the people in Rwanda, as the chosen group to lead the country. Down the road the favoritism shown toward the Tutsi people would lead to the civil war and the genocide that took place in Rwanda in 1994. The Belgians have truly had a lasting impact on the country of Rwanda, as they are still recovering from all the division that has taken place in years past. They are however on the road to recovery and are doing much better as a nation. 

Rwanda is a country that has a handful of natural resources that they trade with other countries. Rwanda's main resources and exports are Tin Ores, various other ores (which I'll go over), Refined Petroleum, Tea, and Coffee. Rwanda's top natural resource and the largest money maker are Tin Ores. The country brings in an average of $148 million in Tin Ores. Close behind Tin Ores are Niobium, Tantalum, Vanadium, Zirconium Ores which bring in $130 million on yearly basis. Next is Refined Petroleum which accounts for $101 million worth of Rwanda's export income. The last two natural resources following behind Refined Petroleum is Tea, which brings in $81.9 million and coffee which brings in $68.3 million. This is a pretty good amount of money Rwanda is making on their natural resources considering the countries land mass is smaller than the state of Maryland here in the United States.







Up until the Genocide which took place in 1994, Rwanda's exporting of natural resources was pretty stagnate. However, after the genocide, Rwanda has steadily increased the amount of money they have been bringing in from natural resources. Now the reasoning for this, I am not sure. It could have been in large part the division between the two ethnic groups in Rwanda that caused the economy to be stagnate but since then and after the genocide, Rwanda has had a considerable growth rate former to year in the economy. For the size of their country, Rwanda has influenced and traded largely with other African nations surrounding them. Rwanda's top two countries in which they trade with are Tanzania and The Democratic Republic of the Congo. Overall, Rwanda has had a considerable amount of influence in and around East Africa and they are continuing to expand the amount of money their economy is bringing in.

Religion

The country of Rwanda has many different religions. Catholicism is by far the most dominant religion in Rwanda followed by the Protestants. Muslims make up a small majority of the countries religious makeup. Another small religion are the secret societies known as the Kubandwa sects. These religions practice worshipping ancestral heroes. Currently and in the past, members of the Kubandwa sects have experienced hostility from the government and some Christian officials. The Catholic and Protestant churches also played a large role in the Rwanda genocide that was part of the larger civil war that had been going on in Rwanda years prior. Primarily, it was Roman Catholic missionaries that decided that the tutsi race in Rwanda was the superior race which helped to create more tension between the Tutsi and Hutu peoples. Later on down the road in the Rwanda's history however, the church switched their alliance to the Hutu people, creating even more tension and division in Rwanda. Some church leaders were on either side of the conflict and had prominent political voices as well. Through out history in Rwanda, Catholic and Protestant religions have played a huge role. This began with the arrival of the Germans and Belgians during colonial times in Rwanda. They established Catholicism as the dominant religion in Rwanda and this remains the same today. The religious makeup has not changed much throughout the years in Rwanda. They have largely stayed Catholic and Protestant besides the traditional indigenous beliefs people had before the arrival of the German and Belgian settlers. Muslims have not had the impact that Christians have and this is because of the German and Belgian settlers. They established Christianity as the primary religion in Rwanda and this hasn't caged over the years. Catholics and Protestants still have a large presence throughout all of Rwanda.

Sources:

http://www.everyculture.com/No-Sa/Rwanda.html

Rwanda does not have a long history in written documents, however their history is rich in dancing and different kinds of arts. In the southeast region of Rwanda, a cow dung art called Imigongo is very popular and has been around and important to Rwanda for hundreds of years. This art is done by mixing colors into the dung and then making different shapes and designs. Woven baskets and bowls are also very common and essential to the history of Rwanda. Through my research, however, I have come to the conclusion that Imigongo and woven goods are not the most important part of the countries unique history. Dancing and specifically a dance called the intore and amaraba are what tells this countries story. This dance has three components, consisting of ballet, performed by the women, drums and the dance of heroes performed by the men. This dance was originally used to encourage and entertain soldiers during times of war. Today, the dancing usually takes place at social or family gatherings, as well as different holidays. Intore dancers are trained and chosen for their moral and physical qualities. They are also educated on moral values. A famous dance group in Rwanda called the Intore Dance Troupe has been around for centuries. They became important because they danced for the King of Rwanda. Today, this dance group performs at any important social gathering or when guests from other nations visit. These dances tell the stories to the people of Rwanda. Some dances tell the story of heroes and kings and some dances represent and promote strength and stamina. Just because Rwanda does not have a great deal of written history does not mean that their history isn't rich and full of passion.