Genocide of indigenous peoples

Europeans came to Africa seeking slaves and minerals, later building colonial empires. The 1884 Berlin Congress divided Africa among European powers. Colony-less ‘latecomer’ Germany got Southwest Africa (now Namibia) and Tanganyika (now Tanzania).  Namibia’s Herero and Nama peoples revolted unsuccessfully against German occupation in 1904. General Lothar von Trotha then ordered “every Herero … shot”. Four-fifths of the Herero and half the Nama died.  Communities were surrounded, with many killed. Others were held, with many dying in concentration camps, or driven into the desert to die of starvation. In 1984, the UN Whitaker Report concluded the atrocities were among the worst 20th century genocides.

40 million indigenous Americans died within a century of contact with Europeans. Out of a total population of 145 million Brazilians, indigenous Indians now only number less than one quarter of a million and claim only 10% of the country's area. In Brazil, one tribe a year has been wiped out.