Shangi, Rwanda
Shangi | |
|---|---|
Sector | |
  Shangi Location in Rwanda | |
| Coordinates: 2°24′12″S 29°0′21″E / 2.40333°S 29.00583°E | |
| Country |  Rwanda |
| Admin. Province | Western Province |
| District | Nyamasheke |
| Area | |
• Total | 34.69 km2 (13.39 sq mi) |
| Population (2022 census)[1] | |
• Total | 28,064 |
| Climate | Aw |
Shangi is a sector in Nyamasheke District in the Western Province, Rwanda. It is located at the southern shores of Lake Kivu.
History
[edit]Kigeli IV Rwabugiri, ruler of the Kingdom of Rwanda, reportedly won a major victory over the Nkore people at Shangi during his last military operations (c. 1894/95).[2]
In 1896, a Congo Free State expedition crossed the borders of the Kingdom of Rwanda. The "several hundred" Congolese-Belgian troops under Lieutenant Constantin Sandrart set up a fortified camp on a hill at Shangi, challenging the Rwandan control over the area. In resoponse, the Rwandan royal army attacked the camp in the Battle of Shangi, but was defeated.[3][4] Despite this, the Congo Free State force peacefully withdrew in late 1897 due to internal problems.[5] At this point, Rwanda had submitted to the German Empire, and the German Schutztruppe subsequently established its own military camp at Shangi to secure the border.[5]
Disputes continued between Germany and the Congo Free State over the territory, but the "Shangi Problem" was eventually solved through further negotiations and the work of a border commission.[6] The Belgians also set up a new position near Shangi.[7] Shangi subsequently became a center for European exploration of the region, with Richard Kandt using it as a base.[8]
In the Rwandan genocide of 1994, Shangi's church became a "death-trap", as many Tutsi gathered at the location for protection but were then massacred by Interahamwe militants.[9]
References
[edit]- ^ a b "Shangi. Sector in Rwanda". Citypopulation.de. Retrieved 22 April 2025.
- ^ Newbury 2009, p. 140.
- ^ Cantrell 2022, p. 37.
- ^ Des Forges 2011, p. 15.
- ^ a b Strizek 2006, p. 75.
- ^ Strizek 2006, pp. 75–76.
- ^ Des Forges 2011, p. 24.
- ^ Des Forges 2011, pp. 24–25.
- ^ Prunier 1999, p. 254.
Works cited
[edit]- Cantrell, Phillip A. (2022). Revival and Reconciliation: The Anglican Church and the Politics of Rwanda. Madison, Wisconsin: University of Wisconsin Press. ISBN 978-0299335106.
- Des Forges, Alison (2011). Defeat Is the Only Bad News: Rwanda under Musinga, 1896–1931. Madison, Wisconsin: University of Wisconsin Press. ISBN 978-0299281441.
- Prunier, Gérard (1999). The Rwanda Crisis: History of a Genocide (2nd ed.). Kampala: Fountain Publishers Limited. ISBN 978-9970-02-089-8. Archived from the original on 2014-04-16. Retrieved 2016-09-25.
- Strizek, Helmut (2006). Geschenkte Kolonien: Ruanda und Burundi unter deutscher Herrschaft; mit einem Essay über die Entwicklung bis zur Gegenwart [Gifted colonies: Rwanda and Burundi under German rule; with an essay on the development up to the present] (in German). Berlin: Ch. Links. ISBN 978-3-86153-390-0.
- Newbury, David (2009). The Land beyond the Mists: Essays on Identity and Authority in Precolonial Congo and Rwanda. Athens: Ohio University Press. ISBN 978-0-8214-1875-8.