Up till the 18th century, most of sub-Saharan Africa was unexplored apart from the coastal regions. The rest of the world was had been colonized and conquered, the Americas, Asia, Oceania, etc. British, France, Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, and Belgium ships had been crating away their riches. Africans had the Atlantic slave trade which crated away from millions of them and wreaked havoc on their civilizations and wiped out entire kingdoms. But this was not done directly by the invaders, Europeans, colonists but by their intermediaries or collaborators who were disenfranchised or enraged minorities to the status quo then, who acted as their active agents and were handsomely paid in arms, alcohol, cotton, and trinkets or by the demise of their perceived enemies. But generally, the African Kingdoms were left on their own and direct contact with Europeans was limited and restricted. The thing that was "protecting" Africans from the direct involvement of Europeans was Malaria, which was endemic in sub-Sahara. Malaria killed the non immune in droves and if you were not exposed to it before being infected, you could have the worse kind - Cerebral Malaria, which in addition to the usual fever, weakness, vomiting, aches, and pains, Cerebral Malaria affects the brain causing confusion, delirium, seizures, coma and eventually death. "Malaria is caused by Plasmodium parasites. The parasites are spread to people through the bites of infected female Anopheles mosquitoes, called 'malaria vectors'." Africa was known as the White man's grave for mainly that reason.
However, in 1820, came the development of quinine, which was an effective treatment of malaria. Quinine is from the bark of a cinchona tree, this had been used to treat Malaria since 1737 by the Jesuits. By 1835, Europeans had mapped out most of North-Western Africa. In the 1840s, British missionary Dr. David Livingstone was mapping out Central and Southern Africa. Much earlier in the late 1700s, Mungo Park had transversed the Niger, from it's the source in the Guinea highlands to Bussa, where he died after being attacked by natives. Mungo Park exploration was essential to the mapping and exploration of Africa. He had a dual role in addition he was "representative of the British government and was given authority to negotiate treaties with rulers along the Niger. A detachment of soldiers was to accompany him." Europeans were keen for looking for raw materials sources especial after industrialization and markets for their finished products and they saw Africa. The rivalry was so intense especially after the arrival of the new kid on the block, Germany (newly formed after the reunification of their states) the imperialist powers decided to carve up Africa in 1885 and divide it among themselves, without the involvement of the Africans themselves. This meeting organized by Otto von Bismarck was meant to but restrain and control on the scramble for Africa's resources and people.
With the rest of the world taken, the Europeans then began to eye Africa, especially after that it all had been mapped out by the explorers. By 1869, the was a more direct route to Asia via the Suez Canal cutting off more than 5,000 miles from the journey. This involved going by the horn of Africa making it of more strategic importance. As the Ottoman Empire was degenerating France and the British were taking the lands of the declining empire. The French took Algeria and Tunisia. The Dutch colonist had settled in malaria-free Cape Colony in South Africa, which was established by the Dutch East India Company (Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie VOC). The VOC was the biggest corporation in the world, had a monopoly with the spice trade, but after a war with English and French, they fell in obscurity. The VOC enable Holland to be very rich so rich that there were able to claim back water from the sea with a network of windmill pumps. The Cape was under Dutch rule from 1652 to 1795 and again from 1803 to 1806. Most of the VOC's oversea possessions were taken over by the British, and the Royal East India Company took over VOC's infrastructure in India. They had a blueprint of running an empire on the cheap. (Before the India Mutiny of 1857, but that is another story - as this resulted in more direct government involvement). We would forget the outrageous rape of "Congo was characterized by murder, torture, and atrocities, resulting from notorious systematic brutality. The hands of men, women, and children were amputated when the quota of rubber was not met." This was done by King Leopold II of Belgium.
However, in 1820, came the development of quinine, which was an effective treatment of malaria. Quinine is from the bark of a cinchona tree, this had been used to treat Malaria since 1737 by the Jesuits. By 1835, Europeans had mapped out most of North-Western Africa. In the 1840s, British missionary Dr. David Livingstone was mapping out Central and Southern Africa. Much earlier in the late 1700s, Mungo Park had transversed the Niger, from it's the source in the Guinea highlands to Bussa, where he died after being attacked by natives. Mungo Park exploration was essential to the mapping and exploration of Africa. He had a dual role in addition he was "representative of the British government and was given authority to negotiate treaties with rulers along the Niger. A detachment of soldiers was to accompany him." Europeans were keen for looking for raw materials sources especial after industrialization and markets for their finished products and they saw Africa. The rivalry was so intense especially after the arrival of the new kid on the block, Germany (newly formed after the reunification of their states) the imperialist powers decided to carve up Africa in 1885 and divide it among themselves, without the involvement of the Africans themselves. This meeting organized by Otto von Bismarck was meant to but restrain and control on the scramble for Africa's resources and people.
With the rest of the world taken, the Europeans then began to eye Africa, especially after that it all had been mapped out by the explorers. By 1869, the was a more direct route to Asia via the Suez Canal cutting off more than 5,000 miles from the journey. This involved going by the horn of Africa making it of more strategic importance. As the Ottoman Empire was degenerating France and the British were taking the lands of the declining empire. The French took Algeria and Tunisia. The Dutch colonist had settled in malaria-free Cape Colony in South Africa, which was established by the Dutch East India Company (Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie VOC). The VOC was the biggest corporation in the world, had a monopoly with the spice trade, but after a war with English and French, they fell in obscurity. The VOC enable Holland to be very rich so rich that there were able to claim back water from the sea with a network of windmill pumps. The Cape was under Dutch rule from 1652 to 1795 and again from 1803 to 1806. Most of the VOC's oversea possessions were taken over by the British, and the Royal East India Company took over VOC's infrastructure in India. They had a blueprint of running an empire on the cheap. (Before the India Mutiny of 1857, but that is another story - as this resulted in more direct government involvement). We would forget the outrageous rape of "Congo was characterized by murder, torture, and atrocities, resulting from notorious systematic brutality. The hands of men, women, and children were amputated when the quota of rubber was not met." This was done by King Leopold II of Belgium.
Quinine history is one tightly entangled with the history of European empires, and their quests for domination in the malaria-ridden areas of the world. This enables exploration of the innermost areas of Africa. It has unpredictable serious side effects apart from life-threatening side effects, ranging from thrombocytopenia, Hemolytic anemia, Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis, Steven-Johnson Syndrome, Urticaria, etc, in short, it can "dissolve" your cells, or "melt off" your skin. Now, it is not used to treat Malaria as it once was but it is reserved for the Drug-resistant one. This is the drug from South America that enables the Europeans to conquer and extract resources from Africa.
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