Kingdom of Burundi

Kingdom of Burundi
Royaume du Burundi
Independent state (17th century–1890) Part of German East Africa (1890–1916) Part of Ruanda-Urundi (1916–1962) Independent state (1962–1966)
1680–1966
Flag Coat of arms
Motto Imana, Umwan, 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.
Capital		Gitega Bujumbura
Languages		Kirundi, French
Government		Monarchy
Mwami
•	1680–1709	Ntare I (first)
•	1966	Ntare V (last)
Prime Minister
•	1961	Joseph Cimpaye (first)
•	1966	Michel Micombero (last)
Historical era		Cold War
•	Established	17th century
•	German East Africa	July 1, 1890
•	Ruanda-Urundi	July 20, 1922
•	Autonomy	December 21, 1961
•	Independence	July 1, 1962
•	Republic	November 28, 1966
Area
•	1966	27,834 km² (10,747 sq mi)
Population
•	1966 est.	3,275,000
Density		117.7 /km²  (304.7 /sq mi)
Succeeded by Republic of Burundi

The Kingdom of Burundi (French: Royaume du Burundi) or Kingdom of Urundi (Royaume d'Urundi) was a polity ruled by a traditional monarch in modern-day Republic of Burundi in the Great Lakes region of East Africa. The kingdom, majority ethnic Hutu, was ruled by a monarch from the Tutsi ethnic group with the title of mwami. 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

The date of the foundation of the Kingdom of Burundi is unknown but probably dates back to the 17th century when the Tutsi ethnic group gained dominance over the larger ethnic Hutu population of the region. Under mwami Ntare I (r.1675–1705), the kingdom expanded and annexed a number of surrounding polities.^[1] Although ruled by the mwami, the kingdom was extensively decentralised and local sub-rulers had wide independence. Before the arrival of European colonists, succession struggles were also common.^[1]

In 1890, Burundi became part of the German colonial empire as part of German East Africa but was not effectively occupied or controlled by the colonial power. During World War I, Belgian troops from the neighbouring Belgian Congo invaded the region and occupied it. The Belgians were awarded Burundi, together with the neighbouring Kingdom of Rwanda, as an international mandate by the League of Nations. The Belgians, however, preserved many of the kingdom's institutions intact.^[1]

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. 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.^[2] Ethnic violence between the Hutu majority and the Tutsi minority rose, however, 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.^[2]

Monarchs

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.^[3]

The flag of the kingdom contained a karyenda in the center as a symbol of royal authority.^[4]

See also

• History of Burundi

References

Further reading

• Gahama, Joseph (1983). Le Burundi sous administration belge: La periode du mandat, 1919-1939. Paris: Karthala. ISBN 9782865370894.