Kingdom of Burundi

Kingdom of Burundi
*Koninkrijk Boeroendi* (Dutch)
*Royaume du Burundi* (French)
*Königreich Burundi* (German)
Kingdom of Burundi Koninkrijk Boeroendi (Dutch); Royaume du Burundi (French); Königreich Burundi (German)
1680–1966
	Flag Coat of arms
	Motto: Imana, Umwami, Uburundi ; Dieu, le Roi et le Burundi ; "God, the King and Burundi"
	Anthem: Burundi Bwacu (Our Burundi);
	Territory of the Kingdom of Burundi in 1966.
Status	Independent state (1680–1890); Part of German East Africa (1890–1916); Part of Ruanda-Urundi (1916–1962); Independent state (1962–1966)
Capital	Gitega; Bujumbura
Common languages	Kirundi, French, German (official from 1890–1916), Dutch (official from 1916–1962)
Religion	Catholicism (de facto official religion 1916-1962)
Government	Unitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy (1962-1966)
Mwami
• 1680–1709	Ntare I (first)
• 1966	Ntare V (last)
Prime Minister
• 1961	Joseph Cimpaye (first)
• 1966	Michel Micombero (last)
Legislature	Parliament (from 1962)
• Upper house	Senate (from 1962)
• Lower house	National Assembly (from 1962)
Historical era	Cold War
• Established	1680
• German East Africa	July 1, 1890
• Formation of Ruanda-Urundi	July 20, 1922
• Autonomy	December 21, 1961
• Independence	July 1, 1962
• Republic	November 28 1966
ISO 3166 code	BI
Preceded by	Succeeded by
	Kitara Empire
Republic of Burundi
Today part of	Burundi

The Kingdom of Burundi (Template:Lang-fr) or Kingdom of Urundi (Royaume d'Urundi) was a Bantu kingdom in the modern-day Republic of Burundi. The Ganwa monarchs (with the title of mwami) ruled over both Hutus and Tutsis. Created in the 17th century, the kingdom was preserved under European colonial rule in the late 19th and early 20th century and was an independent state between 1962 and 1966.

History

Early history and German domination

The exact date of the founding of Brundi is unkown but likely began in the 17th century when Ntare Rushatsi Founded the Ganwa Dynasty. Some oral history claims Ntare Rushatsi came to Burundi from the Kingdom of Buha in Tanzania.^[1]^[2]. The king of Burundi was known as the mwami; however, the kingdom was extensively decentralised. Succession struggles were also common.^[3] Over time, two important lineages emerged in the Ganwa, namely the Bezi and Batare, and the infighting between these families became one of the major sources of conflict within Burundi.^[4]

Under mwami Ntare I (r. 1675–1705), the kingdom expanded and annexed a number of surrounding polities.^[3] After this early period of consolidation, Burundi was no longer able to expand due to bordering at other, more powerful states.^[4] In the early 19th century, Burundi experienced an increase in power, and was able to conquer areas which later became part of Rwanda and Tanzania.^[4] In 1890, Burundi was assigned to the German colonial empire as part of German East Africa, but was not effectively occupied or controlled by the colonial power.^[4]^[3] Besides establishing a military post in the area in 1896, Germany mainly opted to rule indirectly through the mwami, alternating between strengthening and limiting the power of the Burundian monarchy.^[4]

In 1912, German colonial resident Erich von Langenn-Steinkeller moved the seat of the German administration from Usumbura to Gitega, close to the traditional heartland of the Burundian monarchy.^[5]

World War I and Belgian rule

During World War I, Burundi was contested between Germany and the Allies.^[6] From 1914, the Ruzizi River marked the frontline in the area; in September 1915, German forces crossed the border and attacked Luvungi in the neighbouring Belgian Congo. After this attack was repelled by the Belgians, the Germans withdrew most of their Schutztruppe forces from the area. From then on, Burundi was only held by the Urundi Company led by Langenn-Steinkeller and the 14th Reserve Company;^[7] this garrison consisted of 36 Germans, 250 askari, and 100 Ruga-Ruga.^[8] In May 1916, Belgian troops broke through German defenses in Rwanda as part of the early stages of the Tabora offensive, and then turned south to capture Burundi. However, their attempt to capture the local German Schutztruppe garrison failed, as Langenn-Steinkeller's force successfully evaded them and retreated from the region. The Belgians occupied Burundi's capital of Gitega on 17 June 1916.^[6] The Burundian monarchy, at the time led by a regency council due to the minority of mwami Mwambutsa IV, officially surrendered to the Belgians ten days later.^[9]

As a result of the atrocities committed in the Congo when it had been directly ruled by Leopold II of Belgium, the population of Burundi was generally fearful of the Belgians; though Force Publique troops did not assuage these fears, as they looted and harassed civilians, the Belgian takeover was mostly orderly and its new regime was initially "no harder (nor any easier)" than that of the Germans.^[10] The war years exerted a heavy toll on Burundi; locals were conscripted as porters and food requisitioned, resulting in many civilian deaths.^[10]

The Belgians were officially awarded Burundi, together with the neighbouring Kingdom of Rwanda, as an international mandate by the League of Nations in 1922. The Belgians preserved many of the kingdom's institutions intact,^[3]^[4] but in contrast to the limited overlordship by Germany, they exerted more control, imposing forced labor and more taxes. These developments led to increased social conflicts, and a series of peasant uprisings in the 1920s and 1930s. These rebellions targeted both the Belgians as well as the Batare lineage that was seen as being more closely aligned with the colonial power than the Bezi.^[4]

Independence and end of the monarchy

Whereas the similar Rwandan monarchy was abolished in a revolution between 1959 and 1961, the Burundian monarchy succeeded in surviving into the post-colonial period.^[11] By the early 1960s, Burundi's monarchy still held considerable popular support, both among the Tutsi as well as the Hutu.^[4]^[12] The country's independence movement was led by Louis Rwagasore, a prince of the Bezi clan^[13] and leader of the Union for National Progress (UPRONA). He hoped to avoid the ethnic and social conflicts of Rwanda, and was able to rally both Tutsi as well as Hutu to his cause.^[14] However, the Belgian administration was wary of Rwagasore's nationalism. It consequently supported the creation of the Christian Democratic Party (Parti Démocratique Chrétien, PDC)^[15] which rejected immediate independence and was regarded as more moderate.^[16] Before long, the parties were also drawn into the long-existing conflict among the nobility, as the Bezi backed UPRONA and the Batare supported the PDC.^[17]^[18]

Aided by the Belgian authorities which placed Rwagasore under house arrest, the PDC won the country's first municipal elections in November 1960.^[14] In the 1961 Burundian legislative election, however, UPRONA achieved a landslide victory. Rwagasore became Prime Minister and assembled a government of national unity to prepare for full independence.^[14]^[19] His tenure was cut short when he was murdered on 13 October 1961 by his political rivals; the assassination was probably connected to the Batare-Bezi rivalry.^[17]^[18] Rwagasore's death derailed his attempts to build national inter-ethnic cohesion and facilitated the growth of Hutu-Tutsi tensions which would dominate the remaining years of the Kingdom of Burundi.^[20]

In 1962, the Kingdom of Burundi regained its independence as a constitutional monarchy in which the mwami held executive power and legislative power was given to the parliament.^[11] By late 1963, the Burundian government allowed Congolese revolutionary Gaston Soumialot to recruit thousands of fighters along the Burundian-Congolese border. Soumialot and his troops consequently participated in the Simba rebellion.^[21] Ethnic violence between the Hutu majority and the Tutsi minority rose between 1963 and 1965 and culminated with a failed coup d'état against the monarchy of Mwambutsa IV in 1965. Mwambutsa's son, Ntare V, deposed his father in a July 1966 coup d'état, but was himself ousted from power in a November 1966 coup d'état by his Prime Minister, Michel Micombero, who abolished the monarchy.^[11]

Politics and society

Crowning of Ntare V, last king of Burundi, in 1966

The Kingdom of Burundi was led by the mwami who presided over a large and powerful aristocracy. Before Burundi's colonization, the kingdom was highly decentralized; though this number fluctuated, on average there were 220 powerful noble lineages.^[22] The regional elite often held wide independence under the nominal overlordship of the mwami.^[3]

Colonial system

After the colonization of Burundi, a series of colonial residents were appointed to oversee the country, first by Germany and then by Belgium. These residents had far-reaching power, and also involved themselves in the internal politics of the kingdom. For instance, resident Langenn-Steinkeller appointed the regency council which governered Burundi during the minority of Mwambutsa IV.^[9] However, the resident system never fully functioned during the German rule, as most of the residents held their post only for a short time.^[23]

Social classes

The royal clan, the Ganwa (or Baganwa), formed Burundi's leading elite.^[24]^[4] Though descended from and often associated with the Tutsi,^[3]^[14] the Ganwa constituted a socially, politically, and to some extent ethnically distinct group.^[4]^[25] Ranking directly below the Ganwa were the Banyamabanga, a prestigious and wealthy social class that assumed important political and ritualist positions at the royal court, the courts of regional leaders, and among the remaining population. The majority of the Banyamabanga belonged to Hutu lineages, most importantly the Bajiji; they were important enough to be involved in the selection processes for the mwami since the 19th century.^[24]

The Ganwa and Banyamabanga led the native administration which included the local authorities (Batware), delegates (Vyariho), and arbiters (Bashingantahe); these could be Tutsi or Hutu.^[24] The commoners were called Banyagihugu, including all who held no official positions, worked for their basic subsistence, and were required to provide tribute and serve as soldiers in war.^[26] The Banyagihugu were further divided into agriculturalists (birimizi), pastoralists (borozi), and artisans (banyamyuga). The majority of the birimizi were Hutu, while most Tutsi lived as borozi, though Hutu agriculturalists also often possessed cattle and Tutsi pastoralists grew crops.^[22]

Legacy

Most members of the royal house live in exile in France today. In the 2005 elections, Princess Esther Kamatari ran for president for the Party for the Restoration of Monarchy and Dialogue in Burundi (Abahuza). Supporters believe that a restoration of a constitutional monarchy could help to ease the country's ethnic tensions.^[27]

The flag of the kingdom contained a karyenda in the center as a symbol of royal authority.^[28]

References

^ https://books.google.com/books?id=Plvuddy_4NYC&pg=PA77&dq=ntare+rushatsi+reliable+sources&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&source=gb_mobile_search&ovdme=1&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiilMXX04L7AhXpMjQIHftXCH0Q6AF6BAgDEAM#v=onepage&q=ntare%20rushatsi%20reliable%20sources&f=false
^ https://books.google.com/books?id=WixiTjxYdkYC&pg=PA321&dq=Ntare+rushatsi&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&source=gb_mobile_search&ovdme=1&sa=X&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=Ntare%20rushatsi&f=false
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Cite error: The named reference EB was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j Cornwell & de Beer 1999, p. 84.
^ Strizek 2006, pp. 116, 121.
^ ^a ^b Paice 2009, p. 225.
^ Paice 2009, pp. 145–146.
^ Paice 2009, p. 224.
^ ^a ^b Völker 2018, p. 205.
^ ^a ^b Paice 2009, pp. 228–229.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Burundi: Fall of the Monarchy (1962 - 1966)". African Democracy Encyclopaedia Project. Retrieved 15 October 2016.
^ Philipp 1978, pp. 580–581.
^ McDonald 1969, p. 78.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Deslaurier, Christine (2010). "Louis Rwagasore, martyr de l'indépendance burundaise" [Louis Rwagasore, martyr for Burundian independence]. Afrique Contemporaine (in French). Vol. 3, no. 235. pp. 68–69. Archived from the original on 20 July 2021. Retrieved 20 July 2021.
^ Ghislain 1970, p. 70.
^ Lemarchand 1970, pp. 335–337.
^ ^a ^b Strizek 2006, p. 164.
^ ^a ^b Philipp 1978, p. 580.
^ Ghislain 1970, p. 85.
^ Lemarchand 1970, p. 342.
^ Villafana 2017, p. 71.
^ ^a ^b Kagabo 2018, p. 103.
^ Völker 2018, p. 191.
^ ^a ^b ^c Kagabo 2018, p. 102.
^ Kagabo 2018, p. 104.
^ Kagabo 2018, pp. 102–103.
^ "Pro-monarchy party gets green light in Burundi". Panapress. 21 September 2004. Retrieved 15 October 2016.
^ Guide to the Flags of the World by Mauro Talocci, revised and updated by Whitney Smith (ISBN 0-688-01141-1), p. 153.

Works cited

Cornwell, Richard; de Beer, Hannelie (1999). "Burundi: The politics of intolerance". Africa Watch. 8 (6): 84–94.
Ghislain, Jean (1970). La Féodalité au Burundi [Feudalism in Burundi] (PDF) (in French). Brussels: Académie royale des Sciences d'Outre-Mer. OCLC 2115033.
Kagabo, Jean-Marie (2018). Democratic Engineering in Rwanda and Burundi. Kampala: Fountain Publishers.
Lemarchand, René (1970). Rwanda and Burundi. New York: Praeger Publishers. OCLC 254366212.
McDonald, Gordon C., ed. (1969). Area Handbook for Burundi (PDF). Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office. OCLC 953395348. Archived (PDF) from the original on 27 July 2021.
Paice, E. (2009) [2007]. Tip and Run: The Untold Tragedy of the Great War in Africa (Phoenix ed.). London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson. ISBN 978-0-7538-2349-1.
Philipp, Günther (1978). "Burundi". In Franz Nuscheler; Klaus Ziemer (eds.). Die Wahl der Parlamente und anderer Staatsorgane. Band 2: Afrika [The election of parliaments and other state organs. Volume 2: Africa] (in German). Berlin: Walter de Gruyter. pp. 567–604. ISBN 978-3-11-004518-5.
Strizek, Helmut (2006). Geschenkte Kolonien: Ruanda und Burundi unter deutscher Herrschaft; mit einem Essay über die Entwicklung bis zur Gegenwart [Gifted colonies: Rwanda and Burundi under German rule; with an essay on the development up to the present] (in German). Berlin: Ch. Links. ISBN 978-3-86153-390-0.
Villafana, Frank (2017) [1st pub. 2009]. Cold War in the Congo: The Confrontation of Cuban Military Forces, 1960-1967. Abingdon; New York City: Routledge. ISBN 978-1-4128-4766-7.
Völker, Wolfgang (2018). Von Missionaren, Herrschern und Forschern: an den großen Seen Zentralafrikas vor 100 Jahren [Of missionaries, rulers and researchers: 100 years ago on the great lakes of Central Africa] (in German). Göttingen: Cuvillier Verlag.