01823nam a2200241Ia 4500 CTU_169634 210402s9999 xx 000 0 und d 48.71 614.533 L991 Lyons, Maryinez. The colonial disease : a social history of sleeping sickness in northern Zaire, 1900-1940. Maryinez Lyons Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1992 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. African trypanosomiasis,Social medicine,Bệnh buồn ngủ nhiệt đới,Y học xã hội History,History,Lịch sử,Lịch sử Congo (Democratic Republic),Congo (Democratic Republic),Côngô (Cộng hòa dân chủ),Côngô (Cộng hòa dân chủ) Năm Trung tâm Học liệu Trường Đại học Cần Thơ