HISTOIRE DU BURUNDI

With the help of a wealth of archive material, director Léonce Ngabo traces the history of Burundi, from the arrival of European explorers up until 1962, when the country gained its independence. In 1867, the Scottish explorer David Livingston arrived on the shores of Lake Tanganyika, which was uncharted territory at the time. For hundreds of years, this small kingdom in Africa's Great Lakes region had been ruled by several dynasties of kings (mwani), whose power was based on a highly structured and hierarchical society. The arrival of the Germans in 1897, followed by the Belgians in 1916, led to political, social and economic changes that swept away centuries of stability.