Chrissy has taught secondary English and history and writes online curriculum. She has an M.S.Ed. in Social Studies Education.
First things first: What's a Hutu and what's a Tutsi? The question is actually not so much a 'what?' but a 'who?' The Hutu people arrived in Central Africa anywhere from 2,500 to 3,000 years ago. They traditionally lived in large families and survived by farming the land. About 400 years ago, a new group of people made their way into the Hutus' home. These people were called the Tutsi. The Tutsi moved from place to place and didn't really establish a permanent home until they ran into the Hutu. Instead of farming, the Tutsi made a living by herding cattle.
Most of the Tutsi assimilated, or became a part of, Hutu culture. They spoke similar languages and practiced similar traditions. From the outside, the two groups looked like the same people. There was, however, one critical difference.: how they made a living. Having cattle gave the Tutsi greater status in the community--more cows meant more wealth. More wealth meant more power. While the Hutu and the Tutsi were very similar in all other aspects of life, economic status between the two groups created large divides in the community.
Eventually, Europeans arrived on the scene and began carving up Africa. The Belgians made their way into Central Africa and took over the region where the Hutus and Tutsis lived. The Belgians viewed themselves as superior to both the Hutu and the Tutsi people, but they also recognized a difference between the two peoples. The Tutsi were viewed as wealthier, and therefore superior, to the Hutu. In 1935, the Belgian government started requiring the Hutu and Tutsi to carry cards that explained who they were and what group they belonged to. To make matters worse, the Tutsi were given special privileges and access to things like education and government jobs. The already-tense relationship between the Hutu and Tutsi was reaching a boiling point.
Eventually, the European imperialists began to leave Africa, but that didn't mean the relationship between the Hutu and Tutsi would get any better. Two countries formed: Rwanda and Burundi. The Hutu made up the majority of the population in both countries, but because of the special status given to the Tutsi, they were the ones who controlled the government. Until 1966, a king ruled Burundi, but he was overthrown by a Tutsi man named Michel Micombero. Along with the Burundian army, Micombero deposed the king and seized control of the country. Talk about a power grab!
Micombero was powerful and wealthy, but he did not have the full support of the other Tutsi. The Hutu living in Burundi saw this as their opportunity to strike--Micombero showed signs of weakness, and they could move to get rid of him. In a violent coup d'etat, a group of Hutu attempted to seize the government and killed over 2,000 Tutsi.
The Hutu victory was short-lived. Even though they outnumbered the Tutsi, they didn't control the military. The Tutsi responded with even more extreme violence and began the genocide, or systematic killing of the Hutu. The military killed anyone suspected of helping with the coup, in addition to anyone who might ever potentially be a threat to the Tutsi regime. Not even school children were safe. In 1972, the genocide was in full-swing. In that year, over 100,000 Hutu were killed.
The Burundian genocide stemmed from deep-seated ethnic conflict between the Hutu and Tutsi people that began some 400 years ago. The Hutu were natives of Central Africa and made their living by farming. The Tutsi people arrived in the region about 400 years ago and made their living by herding cattle. Economic differences put the Tutsi in a position of power over the Hutu, despite the fact that the two were very ethnically similar.
During European imperialism in Europe, the Belgians gave the Tutsi more rights and privileges. When Rwanda and Burundi became countries, the Tutsi had control of the government and military. The Hutu majority staged a coup against the Tutsi government and killed over 2,000 Tutsi people. In the years that followed, the Tutsi set into motion a full-scale genocide that systematically targeted any Hutu who real or perceived influence. In 1972 alone, over 100,000 Hutu were killed by the Tutsi-led Burundian government.
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