German rule in this most inaccessible of colonies is indirect, achieved mainly by placing agents at the courts of the various local rulers. The Germans did not encourage modernization and centralization of the regime; however, they did introduce the collection of cash taxes. The Germans hoped cash taxes, rather than taxes in kind, would force farmers to switch to profitable crops, like coffee, in order to acquire the required cash to pay taxes. This policy led to changes in the Rwandan economy.