Timeline of Rwandan history - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

This timeline of Rwandan history is a chronological list of major events related to the human inhabitants of Rwanda

Rwanda

Rwanda or , officially the Republic of Rwanda , is a country in central and eastern Africa with a population of approximately 11.4 million . Rwanda is located a few degrees south of the Equator, and is bordered by Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo...

14th century

Year	Date	Event
14th century		Tutsi Tutsi The Tutsi , or Abatutsi, are an ethnic group in Central Africa. Historically they were often referred to as the Watussi or Watusi. They are the second largest caste in Rwanda and Burundi, the other two being the Hutu and the Twa .... s begin migrating to the area that is now Rwanda.

17th century

Year	Date	Event
17th century		Tutsi king Ruganzu Ndori comes to prominence.

19th century

Year	Date	Event
1858		The area is visited by British explorer John Hanning Speke John Hanning Speke John Hanning Speke was an officer in the British Indian Army who made three exploratory expeditions to Africa and who is most associated with the search for the source of the Nile.-Life:... , the first European to do so.
1884	28 March	The Society for German Colonization Society for German Colonization The Society for German Colonization was founded on March 28, 1884, by Dr. Karl Peters. The goal of the Gesellschaft für Deutsche Kolonisation was to acquire German colonial territories in overseas countries.In the autumn of 1884 Dr. Peters proceeded, together with Count Joachim von Pfeil und Klein... is formed by Karl Peters Karl Peters Karl Peters , was a German colonial ruler, explorer, politician and author, the prime mover behind the foundation of the German colony of East Africa... in order to acquire German colonial territories in overseas countries. Peters signs treaties with several native chieftains on the mainland opposite Zanzibar Zanzibar Zanzibar ,Persian: زنگبار, from suffix bār: "coast" and Zangi: "bruin" ; is a semi-autonomous part of Tanzania, in East Africa. It comprises the Zanzibar Archipelago in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of the mainland, and consists of numerous small islands and two large ones: Unguja , and Pemba... .
1884	August	Rwanda becomes a German protectorate Protectorate In history, the term protectorate has two different meanings. In its earliest inception, which has been adopted by modern international law, it is an autonomous territory that is protected diplomatically or militarily against third parties by a stronger state or entity... .
1885	2 April	The German East Africa Company German East Africa Company The German East Africa Company was an organization established at the start of the German colonization of East Africa. This company, in short, was responsible for the activities in the new colony such as setting up leadership, future explorations, and the development of the region.In 1888, the... is formed by Karl Peters to govern German East Africa German East Africa German East Africa was a German colony in East Africa, which included what are now :Burundi, :Rwanda and Tanganyika . Its area was , nearly three times the size of Germany today.... .
1890		Rwanda is incorporated into German East Africa.

20th century

Year	Date	Event
1901	23 February	A boundary is agreed between German East Africa and Nyasaland Nyasaland Nyasaland or the Nyasaland Protectorate, was a British protectorate located in Africa, which was established in 1907 when the former British Central Africa Protectorate changed its name. Since 1964, it has been known as Malawi.... .
1916		Rwanda is occupied by Belgian forces.
1922	20 July	Ruanda-Urundi are joined as a League of Nations mandate League of Nations mandate A League of Nations mandate was a legal status for certain territories transferred from the control of one country to another following World War I, or the legal instruments that contained the internationally agreed-upon terms for administering the territory on behalf of the League... , governed by Belgium.
1933		All citizens in Ruanda-Urundi are issued with an identity card defining their ethnicity.
1943		Famine affects the region.
1945		Ruanda-Urundi becomes a United Nations Trust Territory United Nations Trust Territories United Nations trust territories were the successors of the remaining League of Nations mandates and came into being when the League of Nations ceased to exist in 1946. All of the trust territories were administered through the UN Trusteeship Council... .
1957		The Hutu Manifesto is published.
1959	24 July	Mwami Mwami Mwami is the chiefly title in Kirundi and Kinyarwanda, the Congolese Nande and Bashi languages, Luhya in Kenya and various other Bantu languages, such as the Tonga language . The word is usually translated as king... Mutara III Mutara III of Rwanda Mutara III was the Mwami, or monarch of Rwanda between 1931 and 1959. As a member of the Tutsi people in Rwanda, stereotyped as tall, he stood a symbolic 6'8" tall... dies.
	3 September	The Union Nationale Rwandaise Union Nationale Rwandaise Union Nationale Rwandaise is a now-defunct political party in Rwanda.UNAR was founded 3 September 1959 by Prosper Bwanakweli, and strongly supported by Mwami Kigeri V of Rwanda. At the time, Rwanda was still under Belgian administration, and UNAR was the leading monarchist party... (UNAR) party is formed.
	1 November	Politician Dominique Mbonyumutwa Dominique Mbonyumutwa Dominique Mbonyumutwa was a Rwandan politician who served as the first and President of Rwanda, from January 28 to October 26, 1961, immediately following the abolition of the Rwandan monarchy. He took over the country after King Kigeri V of Rwanda was overthrown following the 1961 referendum... is beaten by members of UNAR, leading to a violent backlash that kills thousands of Tutsis.
1960		An election is held.
1961		Rwandans vote to abolish the Tutsi monarchy.
1961	28 January	Dominique Mbonyumutwa Dominique Mbonyumutwa Dominique Mbonyumutwa was a Rwandan politician who served as the first and President of Rwanda, from January 28 to October 26, 1961, immediately following the abolition of the Rwandan monarchy. He took over the country after King Kigeri V of Rwanda was overthrown following the 1961 referendum... becomes provisional President of Rwanda.
1962	1 July	Belgium grants Rwanda independence.
1962	26 October	Grégoire Kayibanda Grégoire Kayibanda Grégoire Kayibanda was the first elected and second President of the Republic of Rwanda. He led Rwanda's struggle for independence from Belgium, and replaced the Tutsi monarchy with a republican form of government. He asserted Hutu majority power.-Early life and education:Grégoire Kayibanda was... becomes the first elected President of Rwanda.
1963		Following a Tutsi guerilla attack from Burundi, an anti-Tutsi backlash kills thousands.
1973	5 July	Grégoire Kayibanda is overthrown in a military coup d'état Coup d'état A coup d'état state, literally: strike/blow of state)—also known as a coup, putsch, and overthrow—is the sudden, extrajudicial deposition of a government, usually by a small group of the existing state establishment—typically the military—to replace the deposed government with another body; either... . Juvénal Habyarimana Juvénal Habyarimana Juvénal Habyarimana was the third President of the Republic of Rwanda, the post he held longer than any other president to date, from 1973 until 1994. During his 20-year rule he favored his own ethnic group, the Hutus, and supported the Hutu majority in neighboring Burundi against the Tutsi... becomes the third President of Rwanda.
1985	26 December	American naturalist Dian Fossey Dian Fossey Dian Fossey was an American zoologist who undertook an extensive study of gorilla groups over a period of 18 years. She studied them daily in the mountain forests of Rwanda, initially encouraged to work there by famous anthropologist Louis Leakey... is murdered in her Rwandan cabin.
1990	1 October	The Tutsi Rwandan Patriotic Front Rwandan Patriotic Front The Rwandan Patriotic Front abbreviated as RPF is the current ruling political party of Rwanda, led by President Paul Kagame. It governs in a coalition with other parties... (RPF) makes an attack from Uganda Uganda Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by... , starting the Rwandan Civil War Rwandan Civil War The Rwandan Civil War was a conflict within the Central African nation of Rwanda between the government of President Juvénal Habyarimana and the rebel Rwandan Patriotic Front... .
1993	4 August	The Arusha Accords Arusha Accords The Arusha Accords were a set of five accords signed in Arusha, Tanzania on August 4, 1993, by the government of Rwanda and the rebel Rwandan Patriotic Front , under mediation, to end a three-year Rwandan Civil War... are signed between President Habyarimana and leaders of the RPF in Arusha Arusha Arusha is a city in northern Tanzania. It is the capital of the Arusha Region, which claims a population of 1,288,088, including 281,608 for the Arusha District . Arusha is surrounded by some of Africa's most famous landscapes and national parks... , Tanzania Tanzania The United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state... , ending the Rwandan Civil War.
1994	6 April	President Habyarimana and Burundian President Cyprien Ntaryamira Cyprien Ntaryamira Cyprien Ntaryamira , was President of Burundi from 5 February 1994 until his death when his plane was shot down on 6 April 1994.-Biography:... are assassinated as their aircraft is shot down approaching Kigali Kigali Kigali, population 965,398 , is the capital and largest city of Rwanda. It is situated near the geographic centre of the nation, and has been the economic, cultural, and transport hub of Rwanda since it became capital at independence in 1962. The main residence and offices of the President of... . This incident sparks the Rwandan Genocide Rwandan Genocide The Rwandan Genocide was the 1994 mass murder of an estimated 800,000 people in the small East African nation of Rwanda. Over the course of approximately 100 days through mid-July, over 500,000 people were killed, according to a Human Rights Watch estimate... .
	8 April	Théodore Sindikubwabo Théodore Sindikubwabo Théodore Sindikubwabo was the fourth and interim President of Rwanda during the Rwandan genocide, from April 9 to July 19, 1994... becomes interim President of Rwanda.
	3 July	The RPF takes control of Kigali.
	19 July	The RPF forms a provisional government and Pasteur Bizimungu Pasteur Bizimungu Pasteur Bizimungu was the fifth President of Rwanda from 19 July 1994 until 23 March 2000. He is considered belonging to the Hutu caste/ethnic group and was born in the Gisenyi prefecture of Rwanda. Bizimungu worked within the Hutu MRND regime which ruled Rwanda , including as director general of... becomes President of Rwanda.
	21 August	The RPF controls the whole of Rwanda.
	8 November	The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda is an international court established in November 1994 by the United Nations Security Council in Resolution 955 in order to judge people responsible for the Rwandan Genocide and other serious violations of international law in Rwanda, or by Rwandan... is established.
2000	24 March	Paul Kagame Paul Kagame Paul Kagame is the sixth and current President of the Republic of Rwanda. He rose to prominence as the leader of the Rwandan Patriotic Front , whose victory over the incumbent government in July 1994 effectively ended the Rwandan genocide... is selected as interim President of Rwanda.
2000	22 April	Paul Kagame is sworn in as the fourth President of Rwanda.

21st century

Year	Date	Event
2007	6 April	Former president Pasteur Bizimungu is released from prison after three years of a fifteen year sentence, pardoned by President Kagame.

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