6 ATLASES
History of Rwanda in maps
Rwanda as it appears in 6 interactive history atlases, from 1890 to 2015: Rwanda, Ruanda. Each era below lists who ruled the land and when control changed, linked to the dated map that shows it.
WW2 is free in full, and chapter 1 of every atlas is free. A free account opens 3 more chapters a day. Starter, at $9 a month, opens all 21 with no daily limit — see the plans.
Free printable Feminism and the Tunisian Revolution study guide, sent by email ↓
What was Rwanda before it was Rwanda? The sections below follow this land through every era covered by the Maps of History atlases: who ruled it, what it was called, and when control changed. Each line links to the dated map. Modern borders serve as an approximation, as each atlas says on the map itself.
Rwanda · Industrial Revolution
| Colony or dependency — the opening position | |
| Colony or dependency |
INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION: EVERY CHAPTER AND MAP →
Rwanda · Haiti and Kenya independence
Rwanda was a kingdom absorbed into German East Africa. After the First World War it passed to Belgium as part of the Ruanda-Urundi mandate. Belgian rule hardened the distinction between Hutu and Tutsi; a revolution in 1959–62 then overthrew the Tutsi monarchy. Rwanda became independent on 1 July 1962.
| Under colonial rule — the opening position | |
| Other states and societies |
HAITI AND KENYA INDEPENDENCE: EVERY CHAPTER AND MAP →
Ruanda (German East Africa) · WWI
| Germany and its allies — the Central Powers — the opening position | |
| Entente-aligned & imperial territories |
Rwanda · Cold War
| Non-aligned & neutral — the opening position | |
| Non-aligned & neutral |
COLD WAR: EVERY CHAPTER AND MAP →
Rwanda · Decolonization of Africa
Rwanda was a German, then Belgian, mandate ruled through the Tutsi monarchy. Belgium abruptly switched its patronage to the Hutu majority during the 1959 revolution, and by independence in July 1962 pogroms and mass flight had already scarred the country. After three decades of exclusion, the exiled Tutsi diaspora’s RPF invaded from Uganda in 1990. The besieged regime answered with genocide in April–July 1994: some 800,000 people were murdered in a hundred days while the world stood aside. Identity cards Belgium had used to classify Hutu from Tutsi became instruments of the killing. On this map Rwanda is a memorial. Remember them.
| Portuguese, Belgian, Spanish & Italian-ruled — the opening position | |
| Independent Africa |
DECOLONIZATION OF AFRICA: EVERY CHAPTER AND MAP →
Rwanda · Feminism and the Tunisian Revolution
| Authoritarian, one-party or colonial rule — the opening position | |
| No reform yet / outside this story | |
| Right won in law |
FEMINISM AND THE TUNISIAN REVOLUTION: EVERY CHAPTER AND MAP →
Related
THE FREE PRINTABLE STUDY GUIDE
Get a printable atlas study guide of your choice free. I’ll send you a few short letters, then one when a new atlas opens. That’s all. — Paul
NO TRACKING · YOUR ADDRESS IS USED FOR THE DISPATCH AND NOTHING ELSE · UNSUBSCRIBE ANYTIME