Hundreds of years of slavery and ripping the heart out of Africa gives a clue to the answer to that question, as does the government role in massacres of slave rebellions in the U.S.
But we don’t have to go back that far. Everyone here probably knows this history but I think it bears repeating because putting it together helps to expose this lie about imperialist concern about massacres:
- After the 1884-1885 Berlin Conference that divided Africa among the European powers, Belgium imposed its rule on the Congo through indiscriminate killings and forced labor, killing 10 million people—half of the population—in 20 years time.
- On September 2, 1889, Britain killed 11,000 and wounded 16,000 Sudanese in one day as it tried to force its rule on the people of the Sudan.
- In 1904, Germany sent troops to Namibia to put down a revolt – killing 65,000 Herero and 10,000 Nama people- 80% of the population. It wasn’t until 2004 that Germany even acknowledged this genocide.
- From 1905 to 1907, German troops killed 300,000 in Tanzania in order to crush an uprising called the Maji-Maji revolt against colonial rule.
- In October 1911, Italy bombed Tripoli and landed troops to occupy it and take it as a colony. On October 26 the press reported that Italy massacred of all people in one quarter of Tripoli Libya due to uprising against imperialist occupation, and shipped 1000 others to a remote island to break the resistance.
- In March 1919, Britain arrested the leaders of the Egyptian nationalist movement and exiled them to Malta, but this only enflamed the struggle against imperialism. British troops killed 800 in that revolt that saw massive demonstrations by workers and students. The next month, in India British troops killed 400 and wounded 1200 to stop a rally of 10,000 of Gandhi’s followers.
- In 1920 and 1921, there was a rebellion in Iraq against British colonialism. The British crushed it by killing 10,000 Iraqis.
- In 1929, British troops killed 30 Igbo women in Nigeria in a battle over colonial taxation.
- In 1930, Italy built a 200 mile long barbed wire fence along the Egyptian border to block guerilla supplies to freedom forces in Libya. Any contact with rebels was a crime with the penalty of death. In the same year Italy moved the entire population of Gebel, 100,000 people, to concentration camps on the coast.
- In 1931, Italy executed an 80-year-old Libyan resistance leader. They did it in the largest concentration camp – forcing 20,000 to watch in order to terrorize the population. By one estimate, Italy killed 12,000 people every year in this period to enforce colonial rule.
- In 1936, Italy invaded Ethiopia and claimed it as part of Italy—killing 8,000 and taking 4,000 prisoners in first part of their campaign.
- In 1945, French troops massacred Algerians–bombing villages, shooting people and then tried to hide their crimes in a crematorium. 50,000 were killed.
- In 1949, there was a strike in the mines in Nigeria. British troops crushed it by killing 29 and wounding 51. The strike was an important part of a growing nationalist movement.
- In 1953 in São Tomé, Portuguese landowners unleashed a wave of violence—killing 1,000 who refused forced labor on the big estates (the Batepa massacre). This was the beginning of the nationalist movement and is today commemorated as a holiday.
- From 1952-1958 the British killed 11,000 Mau Mau freedom fighters–1,000 by hanging. Between 70,000 and 1 million were put concentration camps.
- In 1960 in South Africa, 69 were killed, 200 injured and 18,000 were arrested during protests against apartheid passes.
- In the same year Portuguese troops killed 600 during a peaceful march for freedom in Mozambique. In 1961, a revolt against forced labor broke out in Angola; Portuguese troops killed 50,000.
- In 1964, President Johnson provided the four C-130 military transport planes that dropped Belgian paratroopers—thousands were killed killed in Operation that overthrew Peoples Republic of the Congo.
- In 1975, Cuban troops stopped U.S.-supported South African massacres in Angola.
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