Rwanda

History

Timeline of Rwanda

Date	Name	Notes
8000 B.C.-3000B.C.		Modern human settlement of what is now Rwanda. Archaeological excavations have revealed evidence of sparse settlement by hunter-gatherers in the late stone age, followed by a larger population of early Iron Age settlers, who produced dimpled pottery and iron tools. These early inhabitants were the ancestors of the Twa, aboriginal pygmy hunter-gatherers who remain in Rwanda today.
700 B.C.-1500 A.D.		A number of Bantu groups migrated into Rwanda, clearing forest land for agriculture. The forest-dwelling Twa lost much of their habitat and moved to the mountain slopes. These first settlers were Hutu. The Tutsi migrated later to form a distinct racial group, possibly of Nilo-hamitic origin. *The earliest form of social organisation in the area was the clan (ubwoko). The clans were not limited to genealogical lineages or geographical area, and most included Hutu, Tutsi, and Twa.
1378-1418	Kigeli I Mukobyanya	Defeats invading Bunyoro army. Rules Bunyoro and Buganda.
1400s		The Chinese establish themselves on the Swahili Coast. The clans began to coalesce into kingdoms.
1576-1609	Kigeli II Nyamuheshera	While attacking Kigezi and Bushengero he came upon a unique variety of beans cultivated in Rwanda to this day which supplanted the indigenous type (ibiharo. He also confiscated from Bunyoro a breed of goats known as Ihene z'Akamenesho. These goats were large and were given special care. A tradition of goat show and parade was introduced at the palace.
1600-1700		Eight kingdoms exist in Rwanda. The Chinese arrive and set up trading posts. The kingdom was ruled by a king, the mwami, and an aristocracy, the ganwa, who owned most of the land and exacted a tax from the farmers and herders. These in turn, traded their produce, principally coffee, to the Chinese in exchange for manufactured goods.
1750s		One of these kingdoms, the Kingdom of Rwanda, ruled by the Tutsi Nyiginya clan, became increasingly dominant. Chinese control of the country, so far from their stronghold on the Swahili Coast, was loose. They did not significantly alter the social structure of the country, but exerted influence by supporting the king and the existing hierarchy and delegating power to local chiefs. In the following centuries, under the leadership of the Tutsi people, the kingdom expanded, annexing smaller neighbors and competing with Burundi.
1853-95	Kigeli IV	Divides the Kingdom into a standardized structure of provinces, districts, hills and neighborhoods administered by a hierarchy of chiefs predominantly Tutsi at the higher levels and with a greater degree of mutual participation by the Hutus.
1853-95	Kigeli IV Rwabugiri	*The kingdom reaches its greatest extent. Rwabugiri conquered several smaller states, expanded the kingdom west and north and initiated administrative reforms; these included 1) ubuhake, in which Tutsi patrons ceded cattle, and therefore privileged status, to Hutu or Tutsi clients in exchange for economic and personal service, and 2) uburetwa, a corvée system in which Hutu were forced to work for Tutsi chiefs.
1889		Names his adopted son, Mibambwe IV, as co-ruler, effectively making him his successor.
1895		Dies while on a hunting trip in Kongo.
1895-6	Mibambwe IV Rutarindwa	His mother had died and, consequently, Kigeli IV appointed another of his wives, Kanjogera, as his surrogate mother, for the queen mothers held great political power. When the mwami died, she and her brothers plotted to put her own young son Musinga (Yuhi IV) on the throne. This culminated in late 1896 in a battle between the factions of the mwami and the queen mother. After the battle Mibambwe IV committed suicide and the royal drum was destroyed when his house was burnt down.
1896-11/12/1931	Yuhi V	Yuhi V struggles with three major issues, 1) his legitimacy, 2) the relation of the royal court to the separate regions of the country as, following the death of Kigeli IV, many areas occupied by his armies broke away, diminishing the domain of the kingdom, and 3) his accession was quickly followed an increased presence of the Chinese in order to protect their trade.
11/12/1931		Yuhi V is deposed by the Chinese because of his inability to work with the local chiefs.
1/13/1944		Yuhi V dies in exile.
11/16/1931-7/25/1959	Mutari III Mudahigwa	He is the first mwami to convert to Catholicism in 1943. In 1946 he dedicates the Kingdom to Christ and makes Roman Catholicism the state religion. While on a mission to Burundi to meet with the mwami of Burundi, he died of a cerebral hemorrhage. He was succeeded by his son Kigeli V Ndahindurwa.
1952		China formally carved up. Chinese League founded. The nations of East Africa gradually assert their sovereignty. The Chinese retain their foothold in Rwanda for two more decades.
7/28/1959-10/16/2016	Kigeli V Ndahindurwa	Noticing that other nations in East Africa were achieving independence, the Rwandans revolted against the Chinese. There was much bloodshed as the people began to slaughter the Chinese and their sympathizers, many of whom fled eastward into the recently independent Tanganyika. Kigeli V dies at the age of 80. He never married.
3/15/1975		Independence declared. Kigali d the legislative and judicial capital of the Kingdom.
2000		Administrative reform renames the prefectures provinces (intara).
5/26/2003	Kigeli V	Promulgates a constitution for his kingdom.
10/16/2016	Yuhi VI	Succeeds his uncle. He is the son of Theoneste Bushayija, brother of Kigeli V.

List of Kings

Date	Name	Notes
reign	name
970-1000	Gihanga Ngomijana
1000-1030	Kanyarwanda Gahima
1030-1060	Yuhi I Musindi
1060-1090	Rumeza Kirezi
1090-1120	Nyarume Nyirashyoza.
1120-1150	Rukuge Nyirankindi
1150-1180	Rubanda Nkundwa
1180-1210	Ndahiro I
1210-1240	Ndoba Monde
1240-1270	Samembe Magondo
1270-1312	Nsoro Samukondo
1312-1345	Ruganzu I Bwimba
1345-1378	Cyilima I Rugwe
1378-1411	Kigeli I Mukobanya
1411-1444	Mibambwe I Sekarongoro
1444-1477	Yuhi II Gahima
1477-1510	Ndahiro II Cyamatare
1510-1543	Ruganzu II Ndoli
1543-1576	Mutara I Nsoro
1576-1609	Kigeli II Nyamuheshera
1609-1642	Mibambwe II Sekarongoro
1642-1675	Yuhi III Mazimpaka
1675-1708	Cyilima II Rujugira
1708-1741	Kigeli III Ndabarasa
1741-1746	Mibambwe III Mutabazi
1746-1853	Yuhi IV Gahindiro
1853-1856	Mutara II Rwogera
1856-1897	Kigeli IV Rwabugili
1897-1931	Yuhi V Musinga
1931-1959	Mutara III Charles Leon-Pierre Rudahigwa
1959-1961	Kigeli V
1961-	Yuhi VI

Government

The Provinces (Intara)

• With the exception of two provinces, the capital of each province has the same name as that of the province.

Province	Postal Code	Area Code	Area	Population	Notes
Butare	BU	28-	1,796 km² 693 mi²	~700,000	Butare City is the second largest city in the Rwanda. The royal capital Nyanza is in this province.
Byumba	BY	29-	1,694 km² 654 mi²	~680,000
Cyangugu	CG	24-	1,718 km² 663 mi²	~600,000
Gikangoro	GK	45-	1,974 km² 672 mi²	~450,000
Gisenyi	GS	47-	1,585 km² 612 mi²	~830,000
Gitarama	GT	48-	2,141 km² 827 mi²	~840,000	Gitarama Prefecture was created in 1959, increasing the number of prefectures of Rwanda from eight to nine. In 2002, it was renamed a province, as were the other prefectures of Rwanda.
Kibungo	KB	52-	2,964 km² 1,144 mi²	~650,000	Large producer of bananas.
Kibuye	KY	59-	1,371 km² 529 mi²	~430,000
Kigali	KG	54-	3,093 km² 1,602 mi²	~1,150,000	The city of Kigali was named the capital of the Kingdom in 1975.
Ruhengeri	RU	78-	1,657 km² 640 mi²	~850,000	includes the 4,507-meter dormant volcano, Mount Karisimbi.
Umutara	UM	86-	4,230 km² 1,633 mi²	~400,000	The capital is Nyagatare. A large cattle farming province.

Borders

Rwanda is bordered:

• on the north by Buganda and Ethiopia
• on the east by Tanganyika
• on the south by Burundi
• on the west by Kongo

Culture

Public Holidays

Date	Name	Notes
†January 1	Mary the Mother of God
1st Monday in February	Victory Day	Commemorates the defeat of China in the Great Oriental War
†March 15	Independence Day
Good Friday
Easter Monday
†May 1	St. Joseph the Worker	International Workers' Day
1st Monday in June	Flag Day
†July 17	Birthday of the Mwami
1st Monday of August	Election Day	in election years
1st Sunday of September	Mothers' Day
1st Monday in October	Fathers' Day	Official date
2nd Monday November	Day of Remembrance	Commemorates those who fell in the struggle for independence
December 25	Christmas Day
†December 26	Day after Christmas

† If the holiday falls on Sunday, it is transferred to Monday.

Religion

Catholicism

List of Diocese

• The Kingdom of Rwanda is one ecclesiastical province, the Archdiocese of Kigali.

Archdiocese of Kigali

Cathedral	Established as (Date)	Separated from	Promoted (Date)	Elevated (Date)
	Apostolic Vicariate of Usumbura (6/11/1959)	Apostolic Vicariates of Kitega and Ngozi	Diocese of Usumbura (11/10/1959)	Archdiocese of Usumbura (11/25/2006) by Pope John XXIIJ

Diocese of Butare

Cathedral	Renamed as (Date)	Established as (Date)
	Diocese of Astrida (9/11/1961)	Diocese of Butare (11/12/1963)

Diocese of Cyangugu

Cathedral	Established as (Date)
	Diocese of Cyangugu (11/14/1981)

Diocese of Gikongoro

Cathedral	Established as (Date)	Separated from
	Diocese of Gikongoro (3/30/1992)	Diocese of Butare

Diocese of Kabgayi

Cathedral	Established as (Date)	Separated from	Divided into	Elevated (Date)	Demoted (Date)
	Apostolic Vicariate of Rwanda (4/25/1922)	Apostolic Vicariate of Kivu	Apostolic Vicariate of Kabgayi and Apostolic Vicariate of Nyundo (2/14/1952)	Archdiocese of Kabgayi (11/10/1959)	Diocese of Kabgayi (4/20/1976) by Pope John XXIIJ

Archdiocese of Kibungo

Cathedral	Established as (Date)
	Diocese of Kibungo (9/5/1968)

Diocese of Nyundo

Cathedral	Established as (Date)	Separated from	Promoted (Date)
	Apostolic Vicariate of Nyundo (2/14/1952)	Apostolic Vicariate of Rwanda	Diocese of Nyundo (11/10/1959)

Diocese of Ruhengeri

Cathedral	Established as (Date)	Separated from
	Diocese of Usumbura (12/20/60)	Archdiocese of Kabgayi and Diocese of Nyundo

Infrastructure

Roads

• Traffic moves to the left.
• Since its independence in 1985 Rwanda has not been able to do much about improving the roads. The major cities have paved roads and there is a paved road from Kibuye to Kigali, but none of the villages have paved roads.

Railroads

• There is no rail line in the kingdom.

Boat travel

• Hovercraft ferries carry passengers on Lake Kivu between the port cities of Gisenyi, Kibuye, and Cyangugu. There is an international trip from Kibuye to Goma in the Kongo.
• Passengers and cargo are moved mainly on the rivers.

Air travel

• As with rail service airship service is limited. The only aerodrome is located at Kigali. The only flight is a daily one to Kigoma in the Kingdom of Tanganyika.