Rwanda of 1884 assigned the territory to Germany as part of German East Africa, marking the beginning of the colonial era. The explorer Gustav Adolf von Götzen was the first European to significantly explore the country in 1894; he crossed from the south-east to Lake Kivu and met the king. The Germans did not significantly alter the social structure of the country, but exerted influence by supporting the king and the existing hierarchy and delegating power to local chiefs. Belgian forces took control of Rwanda and Burundi in 1916, during World War I, beginning a period of more direct colonial rule.
Independence Day (Algeria) Independence Day (Algeria) Independence Day, observed annually on July 5th every year, is a National Holiday in Algeria commemorating Algeria's independence from France on July 5th 1962. The Algerian War of Independence began in November 1954 and ended in 1962 when French President Charles De Gaulle pronounced Algeria an independent country on 5 July, was very brutal and long, was the most recent major turning point in Algeria's history. Although often fratricidal, it ultimately united Algerians and seared the value of independence and the philosophy of anticolonialism into the national consciousness. Abusive tactics of the French Army remains a controversial