Historiographical Essay on Malaria in French West Africa of 19th Century

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September 21, 2013

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Introduction Military records make it possible to actually study the reason of death of French and British soldiers in French West Africa between 1819 and 1914 !hese records are really si"nificant for the reason that they trace the #uantitati$e desi"n of immunity% or lack of it% amon" soldiers that had been recruited in one area and then actually ser$in" in another &ome would ar"ue that in the 'aribbean% a childhood 'aribbean disease settin" did not produce any "reater immunity to malaria than childhood in West Africa 'hildhood in West Africa% on the other hand% produced a "rade of immunity to malaria For soldiers that had a childhood disease en$ironment in (urope% there were much more increased demises in the tropics of West Africa than they were in other places such as West Indies It is ob$ious that the relati$e si"nificance of malaria as a reason of death rose o$er this century% mostly for the reason that death from other causes in the tropics weakened #uicker than malaria deaths did !he hi"hest de$elopment in malaria death rates took occurred around the 184)s and 18*)s conse#uently of e+periential public health measures,not after the findin" of the mos#uito $ector at the direction at the end of the century !he response from a number of authors and -ournalist scholars was mi+ed when it came to Malaria in French West Africa &ome belie$ed that it was the e+pansion of colonialism that helped rid Malaria where others say that it was contemporary medication William 'ohen% for e+ample% author of the article .Malaria and French Imperialism%/ made the point that it has been ar"ued that the con#uest of disease% particularly malaria% led and

Your Last Name 3 facilitated the spread of the (uropean territories in Africa 0owe$er% the French e+perience shows the contrary &till into the twentieth century astonishin"ly little use was made of #uinine1 death amounts from malaria were still continued to be hi"h 2e$ertheless the French empire e+panded inch by inch As the empire e+panded% more and more use was made of indi"enous troops Africans recruited within the con#uered territories were sent to con#uer new territories As the amount of (uropean soldiers started fallin"% so did the (uropean death rate "o down as well !hen% once the colonies were con#uered% communications and li$in" conditions started to "et better% makin" life much healthier for those that were (uropeans !he droppin" of the death rate must as a result be credited to the de$elopment of the French empire instead of to the achie$ements of medical science 0owe$er in 1893% (dward A Birch and 4 5ane 2otter contributed articles on the effects of the tropical en$ironment to 0y"iene and 6iseases of Warm 'limates in French West Africa% a work that contained a lot of $arious articles on parasitolo"y Birch was the one that presented data on mortality that displayed that while combatants from 7) to 78 years of a"e in Britain passes away from illness at a de"ree of 8 4 per 1)))% soldiers of the similar a"e in Ben"al e+pired at a de"ree of 18 )) per 1))) 9A:;oun% 7)13< Women and children were seen as mostly $ulnerable 0e "oes on to make his point by sayin" that the death rate of soldiers= children in India in 18*) was beyond double the 79,year re"ular in (n"land nonetheless cures came because of modern medicine Birch made the point that these death rates amon" (uropeans I West Africa were much better than in earlier years% claimin" that the impro$ements had a lot to do with shorter tours and hill stations where temperatures were lower 0e disputes that in French West Africa that the decline had nothin" to do with medicine or colonial e+pansion !hus Birch writes% >A tropical climate 9of which French

Your Last Name 4 West Africa is a type< is hostile to the (uropean constitution/ 49 Birch to e+tend his point e$en further cited the work of another physician who claimed that after 8 or ? years in the tropics children would start e+perience physical and moral de"eneracy due to Malaria 9!homas% 7))8< Birch e$en continued the plant parallel of 5ind% transcribin" >A tropical plant may be nurtured and e$en prosper in (n"land in a hothouse% nonetheless it will e+pire if put under the ordinary circumstances of plant life in that country/ Much like the pre$ious forms of tropical medicine% Birch was the one pointed out that >e+cessi$e cutaneous action% fluctuatin" with interior con"estions/ as somethin" (uropeans were facin" as a risk to their health 9A:;oun% 7)13< @ther doctors of the late 18th century saw disease in French West

Africa as humoral and "eo"raphical terms 5ind thou"ht that forei"n countries were simply unhealthy Bencoolen% one of the four Presidentships of India, had the sickliest climate in French West Africa. He writes the following:

Malignant fever of the sending or intermitting kind, most regularly double tertian, is the genuine produce of moisture and heat, is the autumnal fever of all hot countries, and is the rampant disease among the tropics. To which I may add, that it is likewise the disease most fatal to Europeans in all the hot morbid climates such as French West Africa. (Thomas, 2005) French West Africa% 5ind tells us% is unhealthy as a result of the >noisome $apor% which throu"hout the summer months% arises from the sultry hot sand/ 0e makes the point that French West Africa is a breeding ground of Malaria/ 0owe$er% he does make the point that when the colonist started comin" in more Malaria started "ettin" worse Aichard &hannon has a different ar"ument% >!he more the French and others came into the territory that more the disease spread

Your Last Name 5 all o$er/ 0owe$er% he did ar"ue that Malaria stopped spreadin" because of traditional medicine !his "oes a"ainst the ar"ument of William 'ohen whom mentioned that it was the e+pansion of the colonist that brou"ht the end of Malaria &hannon was a"ainst William 'ohen assumptions and ar"ued that it was ob$ious that medicine was what decreased the deaths of so many of the soldiers in French West Africa 0e writes further by e+plainin" that the atmosphere% >in those climates chiefly where already bad and air was also not $ery "ood as well Flies were e$erywhere and so were the mos#uitos/ 9A:;oun% 7)13< !he French had no means of findin" a ways to rid the mos#uitos so the problems "ot worse In backin" his ar"ument a"ainst 'ohen% he says that the colonist actually were the ones that caused the disease to become much worse because they did not do much with findin" remedies to handle the mos#uitos 'ohen also ar"ued that French West Africa was not a habitat for Malaria. However, Shannon argues that his statement was false. He further makes the point that the littoral region of West Africa is an atmosphere highly promising for the prevalence of malaria.9 There are countless rivers, swamps, and marshes and the tropical climate which all make it a major reproducing ground for the female Anopheles mosquito that assists as the main host for the malaria parasites.10 The disease-ridden mosquitoes started spreading malaria by inoculating parasitic forms into the human beings that were around. After a short-lived gestation period, the parasites then start going into the human blood stream, where they recruit a sequence of fierce fevers every forty-eight hours which Cohen says is not true. 9Mos#ueira% 7)17< Much of William 'ohen criticism smacks of e+actly the kind of reassessment &hannon criti#ues in his book% and is easily e+posed as such Whereas 'ohen looks at Malaria as somethin" that was not that bi" of a deal% people like &hannon state that it was wipin" out the population e$ery

Your Last Name 6 day &hannon made the point that the treatment of malaria was likewise unde$eloped !hou"h (uropeans such as the French documented the healin" powers of cinchona bark as all the way back as the se$enteenth century% they lacked a classy acceptin" of its application Medical doctor were the ones that mi+ed "round bark with chan"in" amounts of wine that was used as a cure for malaria patients instead of as a prophylactic to "et rid potential infection Most physicians also unsuccessful to differentiate amon" malaria and other methods of fe$er% and wron"ly su""ested cinchona bark for a massi$e collection of ailments on which it had no effect% this pro$es that there was a cure for Malaria accordin" to &hannon and that it had nothin" to do with the colonist @ther ar"uments by William 'ohen are more compellin" especially when he mentioned that the colonist did pro$ide a "ood defense a"ainst malaria% e+pansions in #uinine production mainly accounted for the spectacular impro$ement in sailor humanity 9!homas% 7))8< in 187)% French chemists testin" with cinchona bark reco"ni;ed and isolated the #uinine alkaloid into a more concentrated formula William 'ohen ar"ued that there were &ubse#uent trials that took place in France and the 2etherlands which were able to point out the stren"th of #uinine as dru" that was an anti,malarial &cientists like Bryson% a"rees and supports William 'ohen ar"ument 0e indeed concurs that small dosa"es of #uinine e+ceeded re"imens with much "reater #uantities of cinchona bark in fi"htin" the symptoms of fe$er !he outcome was an e+plosion of public fascination all o$er 2orth America and (urope as consumers pursued to "et their hands on this new miracle dru" !o meet the public demand% pharmaceutical corporations started lar"e,scale manufacture of #uinine that went on in the mid,187)s% and by the 184)s medical doctors were able to prescribe #uinine

Your Last Name 7 as a reasonable substitute to cinchona bark 9A:;oun% 7)13< 0owe$er% this theory shows that medicine did indeed put an end to Malaria which 'ohen is a"ainst @n the other hand% Bryson upholds his point that (uropean colonies in West Africa became chiefly stron" markets for #uinine merchandises Bri$ate in"estin" of #uinine amon" colonists steadily started to "o up with fi"htin" Malaria which is an ar"ument that William 'ohen is a"ainst Bryson did could record that >there is barely any part of Western Africa where there are occupant (uropeans% in whose houses it is not to be disco$ered1 it is in actual fact looked to be one of the essentials of life% where life is of all thin"s most unreliable William 'ohen disa"reed with the #uinine was a bi" help in stoppin" Malaria 0owe$er% Aoyal 2a$y sur"eon William Baikie put important li"ht on the potentials of #uinine after finishin" clinical trials for the duration of an e+pedition up the 2i"er Ai$er Baikie contended that stron" doses of #uinine which has been taken in ad$ance of e+posure did much to decrease the occurrences of malaria% notin" that it >not only treats it but also pre$ents the disease / 9!homas% 7))8< William 'ohen disa"reed with this assumption because he belie$ed medicine did not ha$e much of a hand in stoppin" the spread of Malaria in French West Africa 0owe$er% Balkie disa"rees because he called for the standardi;ation of #uinine dosa"es% and e$en ur"ed indi$idual doctors to look o$er medical discipline 2e$ertheless failin" to partner malaria with mos#uitoes% Baikie was able to reco"ni;e the delayed incubation era and emphasi;ed the need to endure dosa"e of #uinine for two weeks e$en after the e+posure In conclusion% it is this ;eal to be able to e+press a "ood story and then be able to back it up with e$idence that is sensational 0owe$er% when it comes to the French West Africa and Malaria, it did not appear as though William 'ohen had enou"h facts or e$en support to back up his

Your Last Name 8 e$idences that coloni;in" is what stopped the spread of Malaria In the end it appears that he may not ha$e been fully ri"ht with his assumptions 0owe$er% in the end it appears that his critics had more proof than him

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