Original Sources · Chapter 03

The History of Hydroxychloroquine

Film time 00:06:22–00:11:55 · 5:33 long. Watch the chapter, then open each original source it uses, right here on the page.

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Sources in this chapter (61)

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  1. 100:06:24

    Historical Review: Problematic Malaria Prophylaxis with Quinine. American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene,

    G. Dennis Shanks · 2016 · Study/journal

    Quinine history / malaria prophylaxis

  2. 200:06:24

    In: Encyclopædia Britannica

    britannica.com · 2023 · Other

    Quinine first chemical compound used against an infectious disease

  3. 300:06:24

    Our Oldest, Deadliest Foe

    Science History Institute · 2023 · News article

    Malaria/quinine history (general)

  4. 400:06:24

    The Mosquito: A Human History of Our... by Winegard, Timothy C

    amazon.com · 2023 · Book

    Malaria/mosquito history (general)

  5. 500:06:24

    Poetic Botany: A Digital Exhibition

    Nybg.org · 2013 · News article

    Quinine from cinchona bark

  6. 600:06:24

    Cinchona pubescens

    Wikipedia · 2023 · Other

    Cinchona tree

  7. 700:06:24

    Products of the Empire: Cinchona: a short history | Cambridge University Library

    Cam.ac.uk · 2018 · News article

    Cinchona history

  8. 800:06:41

    American farmers could be growing the tree for producing quinine right now!

    The Americas Revealed · 2020 · News article

    Cinchona bark as quinine source

  9. 900:06:41

    Peru in danger of losing its national cinchona tree

    phys.org · 2018 · News article

    Cinchona tree and Peru

  10. 1000:06:41

    File:Peru offers a branch of cinchona to Science (17th century engraving).jpg

    Wikipedia.org · 2023 · Other

    Peru gives cinchona to the West (image)

  11. 1100:06:50

    File:Brazil 18thc JesuitFather.jpg

    Wikipedia.org · 2023 · Other

    Jesuit's bark (image)

  12. 1200:06:50

    Jesuits

    Wikipedia · 2023 · Other

    Jesuit priests spread cinchona bark

  13. 1300:06:50

    Peter Claver

    Wikipedia · 2023 · Other

    Jesuits (general)

  14. 1400:06:56

    Wikiwand - Descendants of Charles III of Spain

    Wikiwand · 2023 · Other

    Spanish crown controls quinine sources (1751)

  15. 1500:07:07

    George Washington, Mosquitos, and the American Revolution

    delanceyplace · 2019 · News article

    George Washington and malaria/quinine in the Revolution

  16. 1600:07:07

    File:Gilbert Stuart Williamstown Portrait of George Washington.jpg

    Wikipedia · 2023 · Other

    George Washington (image)

  17. 1700:07:07

    File:The Night Council At Fort Necessity from the Darlington Collection of Engraving- detail.jpg

    Wikipedia.org · 1855 · Other

    George Washington (image)

  18. 1800:07:07

    File:Washington Crossing the Delaware by Emanuel Leutze, MMA-NYC, 1851.jpg

    wikipedia.org · 2013 · Other

    George Washington (image)

  19. 1900:07:07

    File:Washington taking command of the American Army at Cambridge, 1775 - NARA - 532874.jpg

    wikipedia.org · 2023 · Other

    George Washington (image)

  20. 2000:07:23

    Disputed total synthesis of quinine by Woodward and Doering confirmed

    Phys.org · 2008 · News article

    Quinine chemistry (isolation/synthesis)

  21. 2100:07:23

    Total synthesis of unnatural enantiomer renews interest in quinine

    Chemistry World · 2019 · News article

    Quinine chemistry

  22. 2200:07:32

    Quinine and the cinchona plant: Gain or bane for Africa? - Hektoen International

    Hektoen International - An online medical humanities journal · 2019 · News article

    Quinine opens Africa ('white man's graveyard')

  23. 2300:07:47

    [online] Civilwaracademy.com

    Civilwaracademy.com · 2021 · News article

    Civil War disease; sick soldiers drain armies

  24. 2400:07:47

    The Union Blockade: Lincoln’s Proclamations

    National Archives · 2016 · Government/official doc

    Lincoln's Union blockade of the South

  25. 2500:07:47

    Quinine With Whiskey: An Early American Drug Shortage

    Anesthesiology News · 2019 · News article

    Civil War quinine shortage

  26. 2600:07:47

    Blockade!

    American Battlefield Trust · 2012 · News article

    Union blockade

  27. 2700:07:47

    How British cotton affected America’s Civil War – In Conversation with Jim Powell & Meredith Wheeler

    Liverpool University Press Blog · 2021 · News article

    Blockade of cotton shipments to Europe

  28. 2800:07:47

    Cotton diplomacy

    Wikipedia · 2022 · Other

    Blockade of cotton shipments to Europe

  29. 2900:07:47

    Cotton, slavery, and the new history of capitalism. Explorations in Economic History,

    Olmstead, A.L. and Rhode, P.W · 2018 · Study/journal

    Blockade of cotton shipments to Europe

  30. 3000:07:47

    Union blockade

    Wikipedia · 2023 · Other

    Union blockade

  31. 3100:07:47

    ‘The Popular Dose with Doctors’: Quinine and the American Civil War

    Science History Institute · 2023 · News article

    Quinine and the Civil War

  32. 3200:07:47

    File:Battle of Hampton Roads 3g01752u.jpg

    Wikipedia.org · 2023 · Other

    Civil War naval blockade (image)

  33. 3300:07:47

    Milestones: 1861–1865 - Office of the Historian

    State.gov · 2023 · Government/official doc

    Union blockade

  34. 3400:08:19

    Civil War Women Smugglers | History of American Women

    History of American Women · 2015 · News article

    Quinine smuggling during Civil War

  35. 3500:08:19

    John Wilkes Booth (U.S. National Park Service)

    nps.gov · 2015 · Government/official doc

    John Wilkes Booth smuggled quinine

  36. 3600:08:19

    John Wilkes Booth wasn’t from any of the Confederate states. Why was he such a fanatical supporter of the southern cause? - History QA

    History QA · 2021 · News article

    John Wilkes Booth's Southern sympathies

  37. 3700:08:19

    The pharmacist who helped Lincoln’s assassin

    The Pharmaceutical Journal · 2021 · News article

    Booth and quinine

  38. 3800:08:19

    JW Booth and Quinine

    ‌rogerjnorton.com · 2023 · News article

    Booth and quinine

  39. 3900:08:19

    File:John Wilkes Booth-portrait.jpg

    Wikipedia.org · 2015 · Other

    John Wilkes Booth (image)

  40. 4000:08:28

    Quinine Substitutes in the Confederate Army. Military Medicine,

    Hasegawa, G.R · 2007 · Study/journal

    Confederate doctors seek native quinine substitutes (dogwood)

  41. 4100:08:28

    Resources of the southern fields and forests, medical, economical, and agricultural : being also a medical botany of the Confederate States; with practical information on the useful properties of the trees, plants and shrubs : Porcher, Francis Peyre,

    Internet Archive · 2020 · News article

    Southern doctors' native plant substitutes (dogwood)

  42. 4200:08:28

    Civil War Medicine

    American Battlefield Trust · 2013 · News article

    Civil War medicine

  43. 4300:08:52

    March 22, 2020 | Members of the Coronavirus Task Force Hold a Press Briefing

    U.S. Department of State · YouTube · 2020 · Video

    Task Force briefing ('anecdotal' answer)

  44. 4400:08:58

    When Malaria Sided With Napoleon: The Doomed British Walcheren Expedition That Cost 4,000 Lives

    warhistoryonline.com · 2023 · News article

    Quinine/malaria in war (general)

  45. 4500:09:04

    A drug that powered the British Empire

    bbc.com · 2020 · News article

    British India, quinine and the gin and tonic

  46. 4600:09:04

    File:British Indian Empire 1909 Imperial Gazetteer of India.jpg

    Wikipedia.org · 2023 · Other

    British India (map)

  47. 4700:09:04

    The history of Gin and Tonic; the infectious disease specialist long drink. When gin and tonic was not ordered but prescribed. Le infezioni in medicina : rivista periodica di eziologia, epidemiologia, diagnostica, clinica e terapia delle patologie in

    Simonetti, O., Contini, C. and Martini, M · 2022 · Study/journal

    Origin of the gin and tonic

  48. 4800:09:21

    File:Winston Churchill 1941 photo by Yousuf Karsh.jpg

    Wikipedia · 2018 · Other

    Churchill gin-and-tonic quote (photo)

  49. 4900:09:34

    Atabrine – Medicine, Health, and History

    Medicine, Health, and History · 2022 · News article

    WWII quinine shortage / substitutes

  50. 5000:09:34

    Lest We Forget (1946)

    U.S. Army Signal Corps footage · Internet Archive · 1946 · Video

    WWII archival footage

    Filmed 1945 at Buchenwald and Dachau after liberation (Capt. Ellis Carter, Lt. William Graf); released 1946. Internet Archive upload 2014.

  51. 5100:09:34

    Why We Fight: The Nazis Strike (1943)

    U.S. War Department / U.S. National Archives · YouTube · 1943 · Video

    WWII Nazi archival footage

    Frank Capra “Why We Fight” orientation film No. 2, produced 1943. National Archives YouTube upload 2015.

  52. 5200:09:34

    Army-Navy Screen Magazine, No. 16 (1943)

    U.S. Army Signal Corps / U.S. National Archives · YouTube · 1943 · Video

    WWII Army-Navy archival footage (malaria)

    Produced 1943 (Record Group 111). National Archives YouTube upload 2017.

  53. 5300:09:59

    Cinchona Missions

    Wikipedia · 2023 · Other

    WWII Cinchona Missions to South America

  54. 5400:10:07

    Claus Schilling

    Wikipedia · 2023 · Other

    Nazi malaria experiments at Dachau

  55. 5500:10:07

    Nazi Medical Experiments: Malaria Experiments

    Jewishvirtuallibrary.org · 2023 · News article

    Nazi malaria experiments on prisoners

  56. 5600:10:18

    The Invasion of Sicily 1943 - The History Reader : The History Reader

    The History Reader · 2016 · News article

    Allied advance in Italy 1943; malaria among Italians

  57. 5700:10:58

    FDA Drug Safety Communication: FDA approves label changes for antimalarial drug mefloquine hydrochloride due to risk of serious psychiatric and nerve side effects

    U.S. Food and Drug Administration (archived copy) · 2013 · Government/official doc

    Mefloquine black-box warning

  58. 5800:10:58

    An anti-malaria drug may have inflicted permanent neurological injuries on some servicemembers

    The American Legion · 2023 · News article

    Mefloquine neurological injuries in troops

  59. 5900:10:58

    A serious nightmare: psychiatric and neurologic adverse reactions to mefloquine are serious adverse reactions. Pharmacology Research & Perspectives,

    Nevin, R.L · 2017 · Study/journal

    Mefloquine psychiatric/neurologic reactions

  60. 6000:10:58

    F.D.A. Strengthens Warnings on Lariam, an Anti-Malaria Drug

    The New York Times · 2013 · News article

    FDA strengthens mefloquine (Lariam) warning

  61. 6100:11:46

    Bill Gates-Funded Company Releases Genetically Modified Mosquitoes in US

    The Epoch Times · 2021 · News article

    "It makes you wonder, who's really in control of our scientific institutions?" Epoch Times story on a Gates-funded company releasing genetically modified mosquitoes in the U.S.

Chapter transcript
  1. 00:06:21 What is hydroxychloroquine?
  2. 00:06:24 Hydroxychloroquine is a derivative of chloroquine,
  3. 00:06:27 one of the first malarial drugs invented.
  4. 00:06:29 Chloroquine was based off of a drug called quinine.
  5. 00:06:32 Quinine is also credited as the first chemical compound used to treat an infectious disease.
  6. 00:06:37 Quinine was initially ground from the bark of a cinchona tree.
  7. 00:06:41 It was given to settlers from Spain by Indians near Peru in the 1600s and brought to the Western world as a cure for malaria.
  8. 00:06:49 Eventually,
  9. 00:06:50 Jesuit priests traveled the world with cinchona bark,
  10. 00:06:53 so much so that it was commonly known as Jesuit's bark.
  11. 00:06:56 In 1751,
  12. 00:06:57 the Spanish crown took control of all the sources of quinine,
  13. 00:07:00 restricting access as a new form of scientific-based imperialism.
  14. 00:07:05 At the beginning of the American Revolution,
  15. 00:07:07 George Washington requested his political masters buy up as much cinchona bark and quinine powder as possible,
  16. 00:07:14 a deciding factor in the fate of the new nation.
  17. 00:07:17 Because in 1778,
  18. 00:07:19 the Spanish crown restricted British access to quinine.
  19. 00:07:22 In 1820,
  20. 00:07:23 quinine was officially isolated,
  21. 00:07:25 reducing the need for cinchona tree bark.
  22. 00:07:28 That development opened the door of European exploration to all of Africa,
  23. 00:07:32 considered at the time the "white man's graveyard," due to how many Europeans died from malaria on the continent.
  24. 00:07:39 In the 1860s,
  25. 00:07:40 during the American Civil War,
  26. 00:07:42 southern states relied heavily on shipping for goods,
  27. 00:07:45 services,
  28. 00:07:46 and medications.
  29. 00:07:47 So honest Abe Lincoln and his advisors enacted the Northern Blockade to block cotton shipments to Europe,
  30. 00:07:53 weapons imports,
  31. 00:07:55 and quinine.
  32. 00:07:57 Lincoln's goal with blocking quinine was to create as many sick and dead southern soldiers as possible,
  33. 00:08:03 because a sick soldier slows down an army and drains resources.
  34. 00:08:08 This ultimately means that Abraham Lincoln could be considered by some a practitioner of biological warfare against men and women,
  35. 00:08:16 young and old,
  36. 00:08:17 free and slave.
  37. 00:08:19 Things were so desperate for the South that John Wilkes Booth,
  38. 00:08:23 Lincoln's alleged assassin,
  39. 00:08:24 smuggled quinine to friends and family.
  40. 00:08:27 In their desperation,
  41. 00:08:28 southern doctors searched for native plants and trees local to the South to replace cinchona.
  42. 00:08:34 The one that came up the most?
  43. 00:08:36 The bark of a dogwood tree.
  44. 00:08:38 When the information was provided to doctors across the South that they had a potential alternative,
  45. 00:08:43 the doctors didn't use it because they felt it hadn't had enough clinical trials and didn't want to be considered homeopaths.
  46. 00:08:50 Where have we heard that before?
  47. 00:08:52 The information that you're referring to specifically is anecdotal.
  48. 00:08:56 It was not done in a controlled clinical trial,
  49. 00:08:58 so you really can't make any definitive statement about it.
  50. 00:09:01 The role of quinine in war doesn't stop there.
  51. 00:09:04 In the 1860s,
  52. 00:09:05 malaria was a major issue for English soldiers in India.
  53. 00:09:09 So soldiers began combining the bitter-tasting quinine with water and an alcoholic beverage to get their daily dose of the life-saving medicine.
  54. 00:09:17 Thus,
  55. 00:09:18 the gin and tonic was born.
  56. 00:09:21 The medicinal beverage was so important to the crown that Winston Churchill stated,
  57. 00:09:25 "The gin and tonic drink has saved more Englishmen's lives and minds than all the doctors of the empire." With Africa opened up to exploration,
  58. 00:09:34 European countries vied for colonies and power in Africa,
  59. 00:09:38 creating rivalries that influenced World War I.
  60. 00:09:41 By the 1930s,
  61. 00:09:43 the primary locations for growing cinchona moved from South America to India and Indonesia,
  62. 00:09:48 lands that would soon be cut off to the Allies.
  63. 00:09:51 In World War II,
  64. 00:09:52 the United States was desperate for a source of quinine and
  65. 00:09:55 cinchona and returned to South America in a series of cinchona
  66. 00:09:59 missions to build a supply chain and protect Allied troops.
  67. 00:10:02 At the same time,
  68. 00:10:03 Nazi scientists weaponized mosquitoes with malaria.
  69. 00:10:07 The Nazis then conducted experiments on prisoners with these mosquitoes at Dachau concentration camp.
  70. 00:10:13 Many of these prisoners were Jesuit priests.
  71. 00:10:16 As World War II drew to a close,
  72. 00:10:18 when United States and the United Kingdom troops advanced on Rome,
  73. 00:10:21 the German troops cut window screens of all the homes in the region,
  74. 00:10:25 confiscated quinine from the residents,
  75. 00:10:28 and allegedly released their weaponized malaria-loaded mosquitoes.
  76. 00:10:32 The advancing Allied troops were ready and protected with quinine,
  77. 00:10:35 cinchona,
  78. 00:10:36 and chloroquine,
  79. 00:10:37 but the local population of Italians weren't so lucky.
  80. 00:10:40 That year,
  81. 00:10:40 there was a massive spike in civilian casualties from malaria,
  82. 00:10:44 a parting gift from the fleeing Nazis.
  83. 00:10:47 Hydroxychloroquine and drugs like it continued to be important over the years.
  84. 00:10:51 For decades,
  85. 00:10:51 American troops overseas have taken chloroquine,
  86. 00:10:54 hydroxychloroquine,
  87. 00:10:55 and other derivatives of those drugs.
  88. 00:10:57 One of those derivatives,
  89. 00:10:58 mefloquine,
  90. 00:10:59 has been implicated in causing post-traumatic stress disorder and neurological issues with troops that were stationed in Iraq.
  91. 00:11:06 The issues surrounding mefloquine are so great that the drug received a black box warning,
  92. 00:11:11 the FDA's most stringent warning possible.
  93. 00:11:14 For centuries now,
  94. 00:11:15 the restriction of access to hydroxychloroquine,
  95. 00:11:17 quinine,
  96. 00:11:18 and drugs like them has been a standard tactic of warfare.
  97. 00:11:22 It was involved in the Revolutionary War,
  98. 00:11:24 the Civil War,
  99. 00:11:25 World War I,
  100. 00:11:26 World War II,
  101. 00:11:27 countless smaller wars all across the planet,
  102. 00:11:29 and most importantly,
  103. 00:11:31 what one day may be remembered as World War III.
  104. 00:11:35 We've spoken with numerous pharmacists,
  105. 00:11:37 doctors,
  106. 00:11:38 and academics,
  107. 00:11:39 and very few of them knew the history of hydroxychloroquine and quinine.
  108. 00:11:43 It makes you wonder,
  109. 00:11:45 who's really in control of our scientific institutions?
  110. 00:11:48 And what are we teaching our medical doctors?
  111. 00:11:54 Our government officials,

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