title: Science in the service of colonial agro-industrialism: the case of cinchona cultivation in the Dutch and British East Indies, 1852-1900.
abstract: The isolation of quinine from cinchona bark in 1820 opened new possibilities for the mass-production and consumption of a popular medicine that was suitable for the treatment of intermittent (malarial) fevers and other diseases. As the 19th century European empires expanded in Africa and Asia, control of tropical diseases such as malaria was seen as crucial. Consequently, quinine and cinchona became a pivotal tool of British, French, German and Dutch empire-builders. This comparative study shows how the interplay between science, industry and government resulted in different historical trajectories for cinchona and quinine in the Dutch and British Empires during the second half of the 19th century. We argue that in the Dutch case the vectors of assemblage that provided the institutional and physical framework for communication, exchange and control represent an early example of commodification of colonial science. Furthermore, both historical trajectories show how the employment of the laboratory as a new device materialised within the colonial context of agricultural and industrial production of raw materials (cinchona bark), semi-finished product (quinine sulphate) and plant-based medicines like quinine. Hence, illustrating the 19th century transition from 'colonial botany' and 'green imperialism' to what we conceptualise as 'colonial agro-industrialism'.
authors: University of Utrecht, Utrecht Institute for Pharmaceutical Sciences, Division of Pharmacoepidemiology & Clinical Pharmacology, Descartes Centre for the History and Philosophy of the Sciences and the Humanities, David de Wiedbuilding, Universiteitsweg 99, PO Box 80 082, Utrecht, 3584 CG, The Netherlands. Electronic address: a.roerschvanderhoogte@uu.nl.
authors: Arjo
authors: A
authors: Roersch van der Hoogte
authors: University of Utrecht, Utrecht Institute for Pharmaceutical Sciences, Division of Pharmacoepidemiology & Clinical Pharmacology, Descartes Centre for the History and Philosophy of the Sciences and the Humanities, David de Wiedbuilding, Universiteitsweg 99, PO Box 80 082, Utrecht, 3584 CG, The Netherlands.
authors: Toine
authors: T
authors: Pieters
mesh_terms: D000383:Agriculture / Q000266:history; D000962:Antimalarials / Q000266:history* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001901:Botany / Q000266:history; D002929:Cinchona / Q000737:chemistry*; D018595:Colonialism / Q000266:history*; D049672:History, 19th Century; D049673:History, 20th Century; D006801:Humans; D008288:Malaria / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000266:history*; D009426:Netherlands; D008517:Phytotherapy / Q000266:history*; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000266:history* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D011803:Quinine / Q000266:history* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D012586:Science / Q000266:history; D014330:Tropical Medicine / Q000266:history; D006113:United Kingdom
chemical_list: D000962:Antimalarials; D010936:Plant Extracts; D011803:Quinine
keywords: Cinchona; Colonialism; Laboratory revolution; Netherlands Indies; Pharmaceutical industry; Quinine