Did the European Imperialism cause the Rwandan Genocide in 1994?

Answer 1

Ultimately, yes. The oppression of the Rwandan people by European imperialists began a cycle of violence perpetuated by those in power. Europeans put Tutsis in charge, even though they were a minority, and Europeans and Tutsis together abused the Hutu majority (and the Twas, another minority). The angry Hutu majority (made angry by European favoritism) revolted against the Tutsis in power. To get revenge and to keep their power, the Hutus oppressed the Tutsis, just as they had been oppressed by the European imperialists' Tutsi puppets. To profit from the Rwandan people's exploitation, Europeans had long ago made a Rwandan economy based on tea and a few other goods that all began to do poorly in international markets in the 1960s. To distract people from the poor economy, the Hutu government began to use the Tutsis as scapegoats for all Rwanda's problems, going so far as to condone the murder of all Tutsis, setting the stage for subsequent events.

Answer 2

It was an ethnic cleansing of the Tutsi race by the Hutu minority. It lasted three months and an estimated 1 million to 4 million individuals were killed or displaced. When Britain colonized Rwanda, they thought the Tutsis were more European looking and so they gave them more power and political freedom than the Hutus. After the death of the Rwandan President in 1994, Hutus took the opportunity to seize government control and lash out at the Tutsis.

Answer 3

The genocide was ignited by the death of Rwandan president Juvenal Habyarimana, a Hutu, when his plane was shot down above the Kigali airport on April 6, 1994. The militiamen first killed the Tutsi business and political elite before turning to ordinary Tutsi citizens.

Answer 4

Belgians decided that it would be easier to rule over Rwanda if they sowed divisions between the Hutu majority and Tutsi minority in the tried-and-true method of "divide and conquer". It worked during the period of colonization, but resulted in high levels of distrust between the groups. That mistrust manifested in violence towards the Tutsis when they tried to have an equal say in the power structure of independent Rwanda.