The Belgians commonly referred to their colonisation of the Congo as a civilising mission, and many regarded the introduction of western bio-medicine as a central feature of their gift to Africans. By 1930, however, it was clear that some features of their civilising mission were in fact closely connected to the poor health of many of the Congolese. The Europeans had indeed brought scientific enquiry and western bio-medicine; but they had also introduced a harsh, repressive political system which, coupled with a ruthlessly exploitative economic system, led to the introduction of new diseases while already-existing diseases were exacerbated and spread. Tropical, or colonial, medicine was a new field at the turn of the century, linked closely both to European expansionism and human trypanosomiasis, or sleeping sickness. In 1901 a devastating epidemic had erupted in Uganda, killing well over 250,000 people.
List of maps; List of plates; List of tables; Preface; List of abbreviations; 1. Disease and medicine in the history of Africa; 2. From private empire to public colony; 3. Mise en valeur:: economic exploitation; 4. Epidemiology and ecology of human sleeping sickness; 5. The lure of the exotic:: sleeping sickness, tropical medicine and imperialism; 6. Discovery:: Liverpool scientists in the Congo; 7. The campaign, part one:: sleeping sickness and social medicine; 8. The campaign, part two:: the surveys and tensions; 9. The African response; 10. Public health, social engineering and African lives; 11. Conclusion and legacy; Appendices; Notes; Select Bibliography; Index.
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