Quinine becomes widely available, which impacts the colonization of the African continent.
Date: 1874
Quinine is a chemical derived from an Andean cinchona tree, and is commonly used by the healers of that region to treat malarial fever.
The availability of quinine expands after Dutch colonists find ways to grow the tree in Java. The Dutch companies dominate the market for quinine, along with a smaller market held by British colonizers in India. "Historians credit the drug, along with filtered water, for Britain's successful offensive against the Asante Empire in Ghana" (Shah, 2010).