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We Want To Buy Burundi Coins
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A Brief History of Burundi
Pre-Colonial History
The Kingdom of Burundi is believed to have existed since the 16th Century, although it didn’t expand to its current size until around 1850. Its position in the far interior of Africa probably kept it isolated from advancing European powers for longer than most, and it managed to avoid colonisation until 1899, when King Mwezi IV was compelled to accept German scrutiny in order to keep his throne.
German East Africa
Burundi was thus incorporated into German East Africa, although the King was allowed to rule internally, and the Germans aided Mwezi IV in putting down a rebellion by his son in law, Maconco. The arrival of the Europeans had the unfortunate effect of introducing diseases that the natives had little immunity to, the resulting pestilence was devastating, and the population of Burundi was reduced by as much as half between 1905 and 1914.
During the First World War, Burundi was invaded and occupied by Belgian troops, and German East Africa was dismembered and divided between the victorious allied nations, with Burundi going to the Belgians.
Belgian Rule
Belgium ruled Burundi as part of the colony of Ruanda-Urundi. Belgium’s attitude towards its colonial empire was more brutal than most, and although Belgian rule in Ruanda-Urundi never reached the depraved excesses of what had taken place in the Congo a generation earlier, the Belgian authorities taxed the local population heavily and forced many to labour on low or no wages in order to pay for and profit from the administration of the colony.
The Belgians helped consolidate their hold over the colony by promoting the Tutsi elite to positions of authority over the Hutu majority whilst keeping their own hands as clean as possible. This ethnic stratification would have devastating consequences in the future.
Independence
Following the Second World War, the European Empires faced pressure to decolonise. Ruanda-Urundi eventually became independent in 1962, but soon after was split up to become the individual nations of Rwanda and Burundi.
Burundi was a constitutional monarchy under the Tutsi King, Mwambutsa IV. Nearby Rwanda had seen Hutu orchestrated massacres of Tutsis under the government of Gregoire Kayibanda, and as a result, the Tutsi elite of Burundi tried to tighten up its repressive hold over the Hutu majority to try and ensure that they would not share the same fate.
Micombero declared a Republic, and then launched a further crackdown on Hutus. This culminated in the slaughter of some 150,000 Hutus in 1972, in response to a further Hutu uprising.
Micombero was overthrown in 1976 by Lt-Col Jean-Baptiste Bagaza, who initially tried to reform and reconcile the nation, but this eventually degenerated into naked political oppression until he too was overthrown in 1987 by Major Pierre Buyoya. Between 1987 and 1988, tensions between the Hutus, Tutsis had resulted in the deaths of up 150,000 more Burundians. However, Buyoya attempted to reform the constitution to make Burundi more democratic and less ethnically stratified.
As a result, the first Hutu president of Burundi, Melchior Ndadaye, was elected in 1993 by an overwhelming majority of the Burundian population (which was mostly Hutu). This was met with great resentment by many Tutsis, who felt that their privileges were now threatened by the election of a Hutu president. Hardline Tutsis in the Burundian Army orchestrated a coup that resulted in Ndadaye’s overthrow and assassination a few months later, although the coup plotters ultimately failed to take over the country.
Burundi Civil War
The assassination of Ndadaye let a series of tit-for-tat killings amongst the Hutus and Tutsis, but the killings began in earnest when in 1994, Burundi's second Hutu president, Cyprien Ntaryamira was assassinated in a plane crash along with his fellow Hutu and president of Rwanda, Juvenal Habyarimana.
The assassinations triggered a large-scale genocide in neighbouring Rwanda and a civil war in Burundi between Hutu Rebels and the Burundian Army (as well as Tutsi militias). In 1996 when the Hutu president was ousted by the Tutsi dominated army who returned Buyoya to power. Over the course of the war some 300,000 people are estimated to have been killed.
The Civil War continued into the 21st Century, but started to come to an end following negotations that culminated in an election in 2005 which saw Pierre Nkurunziza, an ex-Hutu rebel elected as president. Other rebel groups have since mostly disarmed and transformed themselves into legal political parties.
Burundi Coins
When Burundi was part of German East Africa, the local currency was the German East Africa Rupie (Rupee). When the Belgians arrived, this Rupie was replaced by the Congolese Franc. This was replaced by the Ruanda-Urundi Franc between 1960-64 and then by the Burundian Franc. The Centime sub-unit has only existed in theory in this currency. The lowest denominated coin is the Franc, which is struck in addition to coins of the 5, 10, and 50 Franc.
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