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The big idea: In just 100 days in 1994, extremist Hutu leaders in Rwanda organised the mass killing of around 800,000 people, most of them from the Tutsi minority.
This did not come out of nowhere. Decades of division, a civil war that began in 1990, and a wave of hate propaganda all built up until a single event lit the fuse.
Rwanda is a small country in central Africa, home to two main groups: the Hutu majority (about 85% of people) and the Tutsi minority. For centuries these groups shared the same language, religion and villages, and people could move between them.
The idea that they were separate, unequal races was hardened by European rulers, first Germany and then Belgium, who governed Rwanda until independence in 1962.
Spot it: three layers of cause (D-W-P): Division built by colonial rule · War and fear from 1990 · Propaganda and planning by extremists. Almost every cause fits one of these three layers, and a trigger event set them off.
Historians split the causes into long-term roots (division built over generations), medium-term pressures (the civil war and economic crisis of the early 1990s), and a short-term trigger in April 1994.
Here are the main factors, and how they fit together.
Colonial division (long-term)
Belgian rulers treated Tutsi as a superior group and gave them the best jobs and schooling, while Hutu were pushed down.
In the 1930s the Belgians issued identity cards that fixed every person as Hutu or Tutsi for life. This turned a flexible social difference into a hard, permanent label that later made people easy to target.
Independence and Hutu rule
As independence neared in the late 1950s, the roles flipped: the Hutu majority took power, and many Tutsi fled abroad after waves of violence.
From 1973 the country was ruled by President Juvénal Habyarimana, a Hutu. Tutsi inside Rwanda faced discrimination, and Tutsi refugees outside were not allowed to return home.
Civil war and fear (medium-term)
On 1 October 1990 the RPF, made up largely of Tutsi refugees, invaded from Uganda to force their way back. This began a civil war.
The government used the invasion to paint all Tutsi as enemies and traitors. Fear and hatred rose sharply, and a shaky economy, hit by falling coffee prices, made ordinary people angry and desperate.
Propaganda and planning (short-term)
Extremists prepared for mass murder. A radio station, RTLM (a Hutu-extremist station whose name means 'Free Radio of the Thousand Hills'), and the newspaper Kangura called Tutsi 'cockroaches' and urged Hutu to kill them.
Leaders armed and trained a militia, the Interahamwe, and drew up lists of people to murder. When the killing began, the plan was ready.
Deeper causes (built up over years)
- Belgian rule that hardened Hutu and Tutsi into fixed, unequal 'races'
- Identity cards from the 1930s that labelled everyone for life
- Discrimination against Tutsi after Hutu took power at independence
- Tutsi refugees blocked from returning home
Triggers and enablers (1990–1994)
- The RPF invasion of October 1990 and the civil war it started
- Economic crisis as coffee prices collapsed
- Hate propaganda from RTLM radio and the Kangura newspaper
- The trained Interahamwe militia and secret death lists
The spark: 6 April 1994: A peace deal, the Arusha Accords, had been signed in August 1993 to share power with the RPF. Hutu extremists hated it.
On the evening of 6 April 1994 the plane carrying President Habyarimana was shot down over Kigali, killing him. Within hours the extremists blamed the Tutsi and launched the planned killings. The genocide had begun.
How the causes built towards genocide
Division is created
Belgian rule and 1930s identity cards fix people as Hutu or Tutsi and make the groups unequal.
Power flips, resentment grows
Hutu take power at independence; Tutsi face discrimination and many are forced into exile.
War and crisis (1990)
The RPF invasion and a failing economy spread fear and let leaders paint all Tutsi as enemies.
Hate is spread and armed
RTLM radio and Kangura demonise Tutsi; the Interahamwe militia is trained and death lists are drawn up.
The trigger (6 April 1994)
The president's plane is shot down; extremists blame the Tutsi and launch the prepared killings.
Divide → Flip → War → Arm → Spark
| Date | Event | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| 1930s | Belgian identity cards | Fixes Hutu/Tutsi labels for life, hardening division |
| 1962 | Independence from Belgium | Hutu majority takes power; Tutsi begin to flee |
| 1 Oct 1990 | RPF invasion from Uganda | Starts civil war and mass fear of Tutsi |
| Aug 1993 | Arusha Accords signed | Peace deal that extremists reject |
| 6 Apr 1994 | Habyarimana's plane shot down | The trigger that launches the genocide |
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How this is tested (Paper 1): Paper 1 is source-based, but the 9-mark final question also needs your own knowledge. The causes of the Rwandan genocide are exactly what you draw on there.
The classic task asks you to judge which cause mattered most, so weigh the factors rather than just listing them.
'Hate propaganda was the main cause of the Rwandan genocide.' Using your own knowledge, evaluate this claim.
Model answer plan
See the mark-by-mark plan — for / against / judgement, with marking guidance — in study mode.
Common mistakes: Do not just describe the killings. Marks are for explaining causes and reaching a judgement.
And do not treat propaganda as if it acted alone. Show how it connects to the deeper division and the war.