Though its indigenous population is ancient, Europeans first came to the area in the 19th century; it was made a German protectorate in 1899 and turned over to Belgian control by the League of Nations after World War I. After the Second World War, Rwanda was made a UN trusteeship. Independence was declared in July 1962, after several years of turmoil between the Tutsi and the Hutu tribes. In an exodus of mind-boggling proportions at least a million Rwandans were displaced by civil war that raged in the 1990s. Untold numbers of citizens were killed as the violence continued. It was not until 1999, that things seemed to be calming down, but renewed violence has continued to occur. MORE HISTORY