Kigali vs Oldham

Informations

Kigali (Kinyarwanda: [ci.ɡɑ́.ɾi]) is the capital and largest city of Rwanda. It's near the country's geographical centre in a region of rolling hills, with a succession of valleys and ridges joined by steep slopes. The town has been Rwanda's economic, cultural, and transportation hub because it became the capital following independence from Belgian rule in 1962. In a place controlled by the Kingdom of Rwanda from the 17th century and then by the German Empire, the city was founded in 1908 when Richard Kandt, the colonial resident, chose the site for his headquarters, citing its central location, views and safety. Foreign merchants started to trade in the city during the German era, and Kandt opened some government-run schools for Tutsi Rwandan students. Belgium took control of Rwanda and Burundi during World War I, forming the mandate of Ruanda-Urundi. Kigali remained the seat of colonial administration for Rwanda but Ruanda-Urundi's capital was at Usumbura (currently Bujumbura) in Burundi and Kigali remained a small city with a population of just 6,000 at the time of independence. Kigali grew slowly during the next decades. It wasn't initially directly affected by the Rwandan Civil War between government forces and the rebel Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), which started in 1990.

However, in April 1994 Rwanda's president was killed when his aircraft was shot down near Kigali. Social tensions erupted from the genocide that followed, with Hutu extremists loyal to the interim government killing an estimated 500,000--1,000,000 Tutsi and moderate Hutu nationwide. The RPF resumed fighting, finishing a cease-fire of over a year. They slowly took control of most of the country and captured Kigali on 4 July 1994. Post-genocide Kigali has experienced rapid population growth, with much of the town rebuilt. The city of Kigali is one of the five provinces of Rwanda, with boundaries set in 2006. It's divided into three districts--Gasabo, Kicukiro, and Nyarugenge--which historically had management of significant areas of local governance. Reforms in January 2020 moved a lot of the districts' power into the city-wide council. The town also hosts the main residence and offices of the President of Rwanda and many government ministries. The largest contributor to Kigali's gross domestic product is the service industry, but a significant proportion of the population works in agriculture such as small subsistence farming. Attracting international visitors is a priority for city authorities, including leisure tourism, conventions and exhibitions.

Source: Wikipedia

Informations

Oldham is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, amid the Pennines and between the rivers Irk and Medlock, 5.3 miles (8.5 km) southeast of Rochdale and 6.9 miles (11.1 km) northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, which had a population of 230,800 in 2015. Historically in Lancashire, and with little early history to speak of, Oldham rose to prominence in the 19th century as an international centre of textile manufacture. It was a boomtown of the Industrial Revolution, and among the first ever industrialised towns, rapidly becoming "one of the most important centres of cotton and textile industries in England". At its zenith, it was the most productive cotton spinning mill town in the world, producing more cotton than France and Germany combined.

Oldham's textile industry fell into decline in the mid-20th century; the town's last mill closed in 1998. The demise of textile processing in Oldham depressed and heavily affected the local economy. Today Oldham is a predominantly residential town, and the improvement of the town centre is the focus of a project for transforming Oldham into a centre for further education and the performing arts. It is, however, still distinguished architecturally by the surviving cotton mills and other buildings associated with that industry. As of 2001, the town had a population of 103,544 and an area of around 26 square miles (67 km2).

Source: Wikipedia