I’m taking a history class this quarter. History is not really my forte, so I perked up when I heard how a scientific advancement had a huge impact on history.

Quinine played a large role in the colonization of Africa by the British. It’s really hard to colonize someplace when you send people there, they contract malaria and they die. Quinine was the first effective treatment of malaria. After that, Africa stopped being the “white man’s grave” and became another British colony.

Quinine is extracted from the bark of the South American chichona tree. Ironically, it is responsible for the creation of an alcoholic cocktail. Because Quinine has a bitter taste, British colonists in Africa would mix the Quinine tonic with Gin, hence the creation of the Gin-and-tonic. Nowadays tonic water (a component of the cocktail) contains less quinine and is therefor less bitter.

Malaria is caused by protozoa of the genus Plasmodium. It is still considered a threat even with the discovery of modern antimalarial drugs. There is no vaccine for malaria and the tropical disease is still prevalent and some drug-resistant strains of malaria are popping up.

Malaria, Gin-and-Tonic, and the British Empire… who would have thought they were all related?