Between 1880 and 1920, the population of the Congo was slashed in half: some ten million people were victims of murder, starvation, exhaustion,...

Americans have
increasingly come to know about the atrocities committed by Europeans, mainly Belgians, in the
Congo during this time period. However, the atrocities that were carried out in the Congo are
not as well known as they should be for several reasons.

Americans have a
tendency to focus more on the history and events in their own country and in Europe. They know
little about Africa, its different people, or its history. They tend to be unable to distinguish
between the histories of different African countries and tend to falsely assume that the African
countries are similar when, in fact, they are quite different. Americans may also tend to pay
more attention to the suffering of people in their own nation and in Europe. They tend to not
focus on the suffering of people in other parts of the world, particularly in the developing
word.

In addition, Americans tend to make the assumption that Africa has
caused its own suffering by not modernizing. The reality is that imperialism,...