The drug that changed the fate of Africa

(1)Until the early 1800s, Europeans were not aware of the African
(2)It stayed on the coast and never made it inland.
(3)The reason: malaria and fever, deadly infectious diseases that thrive in the intense heat and humidity of Africa’s interior.
(4)Europeans were unable to withstand the climate and diseases of Africa, and so the
(5)I couldn’t afford to go inland and was forced to stay on the coastal areas only
(6)But in 1820, French chemist Pierre-Joseph Peltier
(7)That changed when he created quinine, a treatment for malaria and fever.
(8)This quinine could cure malaria and fever, making it possible to send people and supplies into the interior of Africa, which had previously been unreachable.
(9)After all, less than 100 years after quinine was developed and put to use
(10)The vast continent of Africa was once colonized by European powers.
(11)Locked.
(12)A single pill called quinine changed the fate of Africa.