History of Burundi

Burundi originated in the 16th century as a small kingdom in the African Great Lakes region. After European contact, it was united with the Kingdom of Rwanda, becoming the colony of Ruanda-Urundi - first colonised by Germany and then by Belgium. The colony gained independence in 1962, and split once again into Rwanda and Burundi. It is one of the few countries in Africa (along with Rwanda, Botswana, Lesotho, and Eswatini) to be a direct territorial continuation of a pre-colonial era African state.
The origins of Burundi are known from a mix of oral history and archaeology. There are two main founding legends for Burundi. Both suggest that the nation was founded by a man named Cambarantama. The other version, more common in pre-colonial Burundi says that Cambarantama came from the southern state of Buha.
The first evidence of the Burundian state is from 16th century where it emerged on the eastern foothills. Over the following centuries it expanded, annexing smaller neighbours and competing with Rwanda. Its greatest growth occurred under Ntare IV Rutaganzwa Rugamba, who ruled the country from about 1796 to 1850 and saw the kingdom double in size.
The Kingdom of Burundi was characterized by a hierarchical political authority and tributary economic exchange. The king, known as the mwami headed a princely aristocracy (ganwa) which owned most of the land and required a tribute, or tax, from local farmers and herders. In the mid-18th century, this Tutsi royalty consolidated authority over land, production, and distribution with the development of the ubugabire—a patron-client relationship in which the populace received royal protection in exchange for tribute and land tenure.

This app covers these topics of
Kingdom of Burundi (1680–1966)
European contact (1856)
German East Africa (1899-1916)
Belgian and United Nations governance (1916-1962)
Burundi Independence (1962)
1972 genocide
Post-1972 genocide developments
1993 Genocide and Civil War (1993-2005)
Post-war (2005-)
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