Historical Dictionary of Rwanda (2nd ed.)

Blessed with natural beauty and rich vegetation, Rwanda is often called the “land of a thousand hills” (le pays des mille collines), a reference to its many lush and green rolling hills. Moreover, for many Rwandans, at least in the past, Rwanda, in spite of its small size, is vast; in fact, it means the universe. This idyllic view, however, sharply contrasts with the sad history of ethnic strife that unfolded since the 1950s: the 1959 Hutu Revolution followed by years of anti-Tutsi pogroms, unde