1890-1918







Burundi's Procolonial History



Burundi, together with it's neighbour Rwanda, thanks to fertile volcanic soil, grows 4 harvests per year and therefore has, together with Java (Indonesia) the highest agrarian population density in the world.
The HUTUS, a Bantu people, immigrated ca. 1000 A.D., soon outnumbering the indigenous TWA. In the 15th century, the TUTSI immigrated, a proud people. The Tutsi subdued the Hutus and established a number of statelets. Tutsi and Hutu lived strictly segregated, preserving both their ethnicity and their mutual disregard.
The Tutsi Kingdom of Burundi was established by NTARE RUSHATSI in the 17th century, who ruled under the title of MWAMI. His successors continued to rule until 1966.
In an Anglo-German treaty of 1890, Burundi was allocated to the German sphere of interest. By 1897, it was incorporated into the colony of German East Africa.






EXTERNAL
FILES 		Articles from Infoplease : Burundi
History of Burundi, by Vanissa James Davis
Links to Burundi from UPenn, Dept. of African Studies
Burundi : Descent into Chaos or Manageable Crisis ? from writenet, article from 1995, covers history 1850-1966.
DOCUMENTS
REFERENCE



This page is part of World History at KMLA
First posted in 2001, last revised on November 7th 2004

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