This began with the presence of the Europeans in Rwanda. In “Rwandan Genocide,” Rosenberg made it clear to her readers that the civil wars occurring in Rwanda were direct consequences of European influence. Before there was any foreign influence, the people living in Rwanda had one of two social statuses, the Hutu or the Tutsi based on the amount of cattle they owned and the titles were distinct. They lived in peace. After the Berlin Conference in 1885, Rwanda was placed under the control of the Germans, and following WWI, Belgium took control of that land. Both European countries placed the Tutsis in charge simply because they had similar characteristics to Europeans. The Hutus were agitated that they had no control within the country that they lived in. It was clear that the Germans and Belgians had upset the political balance in Rwanda, which even today is still a prominent issue. Tensions continued to run deep between the two groups and eventually peaked when “thousands of Tutsis were killed” and “150,000 were driven into exile” (Rosenberg 2). The Hutus were fed up with being left out of leadership roles. They were frustrated that they were looked upon as worthless and good-for-nothing. Through the Rwandan revolution, the Hutus expressed their disgust with the way they were treated. The revolution was …show more content…
One of the most noticeable changes that occurred during the period of colonization in Africa was the introduction of Christianity to the Natives. Before Christianity was offered to the Africans, Natives followed the culture of the family they were born into, regardless of whether they accepted their native religion at all. Christianity provided many Africans who were unhappy with their original religion the option to convert. One main example of an African converting to Christianity appeared in Things Fall Apart through the character of Nwoye. In the novel, Nwoye did not understand or appreciate the Ibo culture into which he was born. Rather than live an unhappy life, he decided to convert to Christianity, and disregarded the opinions of his family and friends (“Things Fall Apart”). As a result of spreading the Christian religion across Africa, the Europeans created a new pathway for unhappy Natives. The extension of the new Christian religion to Africa was only an example of a change that hugely affected the course of action the continent would take in the coming