Rwanda 1959: The Social Revolution That Upended Belgian Rule

The History of Belgium: A Small Country with a Giant Colonial Legacy — Fexingo History · Jun 16, 2026 · 7m · transcript

This episode of The History of Belgium takes us to 1959 Rwanda, where a Hutu uprising against Tutsi chiefs and Belgian colonial authorities sparked what became known as the Social Revolution. Lucas and Luna explore the role of the Catholic Church, the shifting allegiances of the colonial administration, and the rise of Grégoire Kayibanda and the Parmehutu party. They discuss the 1959 violence, the abortive coup by Tutsi officer Major Logiest's protégés, and how Belgium's sudden embrace of Hutu majority rule set the stage for decades of conflict. The episode also touches on the…