Ruanda-Urundi

Ruanda-Urundi was a colony in Great Lakes (Central and Southern Africa) that lasted from 1916 to 1962 CE, about 46 years. Its people spoke Latin and Romance languages (Latin, Italic, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Romanian).

Belgian troops took Rwanda and Burundi from German East Africa in 1916, and the League of Nations made them a Belgian mandate. Belgium ruled through the Tutsi monarchies and issued ethnic identity cards in the 1930s.

See Ruanda-Urundi on the interactive timeline

Facts

Dates

1916 to 1962 CE

Duration

46 years

Type

Colony

Region

Great Lakes, Central and Southern Africa

Language family

Latin and Romance

Capital

Usumbura

Came from

• German East Africa 1885 to 1919 CE

Became

• Rwanda 1962 CE to the present
• Burundi 1966 CE to the present

Events in Central and Southern Africa during its time

• 1948 Apartheid becomes law
• 1960 Congo independence and crisis

Neighbours in Central and Southern Africa

• Republic of South Africa (apartheid era) 1961 to 1994 CE
• Kingdom of Buganda c. 1300 to 1966 CE
• Portuguese Mozambique 1505 to 1975 CE
• Portuguese Angola 1575 to 1975 CE
• Sultanate of Zanzibar 1856 to 1964 CE
• British Kenya 1895 to 1963 CE
• Madagascar 1960 CE to the present
• Tanzania 1961 CE to the present
• French Madagascar 1896 to 1960 CE
• Uganda 1962 CE to the present

Elsewhere in the world at the same time

• Ethiopian Empire (Solomonic dynasty) 1270 to 1974 CE, North and West Africa
• Ottoman Empire 1299 to 1922 CE, Europe
• Ottoman Empire 1299 to 1922 CE, Middle East
• Portuguese Empire 1415 to 1999 CE, Europe
• United States 1776 CE to the present, North America
• United Kingdom 1801 CE to the present, Europe
• Haiti 1804 CE to the present, Mesoamerica and Caribbean
• Russian Empire 1721 to 1917 CE, Europe
• Dutch East Indies 1800 to 1949 CE, Southeast Asia
• Commonwealth of Australia 1901 CE to the present, Oceania

Questions