Editing History of Rwanda (section)

===Belgian League of Nations mandate (1916–1945)===
{{Further|Ruanda-Urundi}}

At the end of WWI, Belgium accepted the [[League of Nations Mandate]] of 1916 to govern Rwanda as one of the two kingdoms making up the territory [[Ruanda-Urundi]], along with its existing Congo colony to the west. The portion of the German territory, never a part of the Kingdom of Rwanda, was stripped from the colony and attached to [[Tanganyika (territory)|Tanganyika]] [[League of Nations mandate|mandate]].{{Citation needed|date=December 2009}} A colonial military campaign from 1923 to 1925 brought the small independent kingdoms to the west, such as [[Kingogo]], [[Bushiru]], [[Bukunzi]] and [[Busozo]], under the power of the central Rwandan court.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Kings and clans: Ijwi Island and the Lake Kivu Rift, 1780-1840 |last=Newbury |first=David |year=1992 |publisher=The University of Wisconsin Press |location=Madison |isbn=978-0-299-12894-4 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5ZYoMNeTaMkC&q=Bukunzi+Newbury |access-date=10 December 2009|pages=239 & 270}}</ref>

The Belgian government continued to rely on the Tutsi power structure for administering the country, although they became more directly involved in extended its interests into education and agricultural supervision. The Belgians introduced [[cassava]], [[maize]] and the [[Irish potato]], to try to improve food production for subsistence farmers. This was especially important in the face of two droughts and subsequent famines in 1928–29 and in 1943–44. In the second, known as the [[Ruzagayura famine]], one-fifth to one-third of the population died. In addition, many Rwandans migrated to neighboring Congo, adding to later instability there.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://assets.cambridge.org/97805218/13662/sample/9780521813662ws.pdf|title=Re-imagining Rwanda: Conflict, Survival and Disinformation in the Twentieth Century|access-date=2006-06-05|date=2002-03-01|publisher=School of Oriental and African Studies, University of England (Cambridge University Press)|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110920191322/http://assets.cambridge.org/97805218/13662/sample/9780521813662ws.pdf|archive-date=2011-09-20|url-status=live}}</ref>

The Belgians intended the colony to be profitable. They introduced [[coffee]] as a commodity crop and used a system of forced labor to have it cultivated. Each peasant was required to devote a certain percentage of their fields to coffee and this was enforced by the Belgians and their local, mainly Tutsi, allies. A system of ''[[corvée]]'' that had existed under ''[[King of Rwanda|Mwami]]'' Rwabugiri was used. This forced labour approach to colonization was condemned by many internationally, and was extremely unpopular in Rwanda. Hundreds of thousands of Rwandans immigrated to the British protectorate of [[Uganda]], which was much wealthier and did not have the same policies.

Belgian rule reinforced an ethnic divide between the Tutsi and Hutu, and they supported Tutsis political power. Due to the [[eugenics]] movement in Europe and the United States, the colonial government became concerned with the differences between Hutu and Tutsi. Scientists arrived to measure skull—and thus, they believed, brain—size. Tutsi's skulls were bigger, they were taller, and their skin was lighter. As a result of this, Europeans came to believe that Tutsis had Caucasian ancestry, and were thus "superior" to Hutus. Each citizen was issued a racial identification card, which defined one as legally Hutu or Tutsi. The Belgians gave the majority of political control to the Tutsis. Tutsis began to believe the myth of their superior racial status, and exploited their power over the Hutu majority. In the 1920s, Belgian ethnologists analysed (measured skulls, etc.) thousands of Rwandans on analogous racial criteria. These measurements were however not used during the implementation of the identity card. In 1931, the ethnic identity was officially mandated and administrative documents systematically detailed each person's "ethnicity,". Rwandans had to apply for their identity card. During their application they were asked basic information such as their name, age and ethnicity. They could choose between Hutu, Tutsi or Twa. Most Rwandans were Hutu and answered as such, although when people started to suspect being Tutsi came with special privileges some lied and stated their ethnicity as Tutsi. When they applications were over however, the ethnic identity was fixed, as it was inherited patrilinealy. 84% of Rwandans were assigned Hutu, 14% Tutsi and around 1% Twa. Each Rwandan had an ethnic [[identity card]].<ref>Adam Curtis documentary ''All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace''. BBC, episode 3.</ref><ref>Human Rights Watch, history of Rwanda: https://www.hrw.org/reports/1999/rwanda/Geno1-3-09.htm</ref><ref>P.J. Magnarella, Comprehending genocide: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/11287462.2000.10800754?needAccess=true</ref>

A history of Rwanda that justified the existence of these racial distinctions was written. No [[history|historical]], [[archaeology|archaeological]], or above all [[linguistics|linguistic]] traces have been found to date that confirm this official history. The observed differences between the Tutsis and the Hutus are about the same as those evident between the different British social classes in the 1950s. The way people nourished themselves explains a large part of the differences: the Tutsis, since they raised cattle, traditionally drank more [[milk]] than the Hutu, who were farmers.

[[File:Cattle of the Ruanda.jpg|thumb|Cattle of Rwanda, {{Circa|1942}}]]
The fragmenting of Hutu lands angered [[Yuhi V of Rwanda|Mwami Yuhi IV]], who had hoped to further centralize his power enough to get rid of the Belgians. In 1931 Tutsi plots against the Belgian administration resulted in the Belgians' deposing the Tutsi Mwami Yuhi. The Tutsis took up arms against the Belgians, but feared the Belgians' military superiority and did not openly revolt.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.hrcberkeley.org/download/Rwanda-Curriculum-English1.pdf|title=The Teaching of the History of Rwanda: A Participatory Approach (A Reference Book for Secondary Schools in Rwanda)|access-date=2007-06-05|date=2007-03-01|publisher=Ministry of Education, Science, Technology and Research, Kigali, Rwanda, and UC Berkeley Human Rights Center, Berkeley, US|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070613233149/http://hrcberkeley.org/download/Rwanda-Curriculum-English1.pdf|archive-date=2007-06-13}}</ref> Yuhi was replaced by [[Mutara III Rudahigwa|Mutara III]], his son. In 1943, he became the first Mwami to convert to [[Catholicism]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Umutesi|first=Francine|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1121045767|title=Forgiveness... the Rwandan way|date=May 2014|isbn=978-1-4969-0455-3|location=Bloomington, IN|oclc=1121045767}}</ref>

From 1935 on, "Tutsi", "Hutu" and "Twa" were indicated on identity cards. However, because of the existence of many wealthy Hutu who shared the financial (if not physical) stature of the Tutsi, the Belgians used an expedient method of classification based on the number of cattle a person owned. Anyone with ten or more cattle was considered a member of the Tutsi class. The Roman Catholic Church, the primary educators in the country, subscribed to and reinforced the differences between Hutu and Tutsi. They developed separate educational systems for each,{{citation needed|date=February 2016}} although throughout the 1940s and 1950s the vast majority of students were Tutsi.{{Citation needed|date=June 2009}}