Article
ID: CBB452955791

‘These Are the Medicines That “Make” Monsters’: Thalidomide in Southern Africa, 1958–1962 (2020)

unapi
Colonialism Pharmacy Thalidomide 20th century, late South Africa Namibia Zimbabwe Mozambique Angola

Thalidomide is amongst the most notorious drugs of all time. The majority of accounts of its distribution to the early 1960s focus on those countries where thalidomide caused the most extensive damage, most notably in economically developed countries. This article raises, however, questions about intended, explored, initiated or sometimes thwarted markets for thalidomide-containing preparations outside ‘the West’. It does so by focusing on Southern African markets for thalidomide, particularly those in Angola, Mozambique, (now) Zimbabwe, Namibia and South Africa. We place differences in the drug’s distribution channels in the context of the political economies of pharmaceuticals markets in the region in the decades after World War 2 and argue that colonial legacies and circuits of commerce can contribute to an understanding of why some regions ‘escaped a thalidomide disaster’. Finally, from late 1961 through 1962, we chart Southern African attempts to establish, or deny, the local presence of the teratogen.

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Authors & Contributors
Varanda, Jorge
Selby Hearth
Pereira, Hugo Silveira
Amaral, Isabel
Cleveland, Todd
Hecht, Gabrielle
Journals
Environment and History
Earth Sciences History: Journal of the History of the Earth Sciences Society
História, Ciências, Saúde---Manguinhos
HOST: Journal of History of Science and Technology
Annals of Science: The History of Science and Technology
British Journal for the History of Science
Publishers
Universidade de Lisboa
MIT Press
University of Chicago Press
University of Washington Press
Concepts
Colonialism
Portugal, colonies
Imperialism
Mines and mining
Indigenous peoples; indigeneity
Public health
People
Maria Corinta Ferreira
Time Periods
19th century
20th century, early
20th century
20th century, late
18th century
10th century
Places
Angola
South Africa
Mozambique
Africa
Namibia
Portugal
Institutions
Royal Society of London
South West Africa Company (SWACO)
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