Rwanda was only a German colony for a short period of time, however. With the German empire's defeat in World War I Rwanda became absorted into the Belgian colonial empire as part of a mandate from the League of Nations (later United Nations). The Belgian colonial occupation had a much more lasting effect in Rwanda[v].

Who colonized Rwanda in 1918?

1918 Under the Treaty of Versailles the former German colony of Rwanda-Urundi is made a League of Nations protectorate to be governed by Belgium. The two territories (later to become Rwanda and Burundi) are administered separately under two different Tutsi monarchs.

How was Rwanda treated under Belgium?

In 1919, Belgium inherited the colony as part of a League of Nations mandate, which partitioned German territories after World War I. Belgian colonizers initiated more direct control in Rwanda maintaining an existing political system, which allowed native monarchs to rule over the local populous.