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Incidentally, the presence of the malarial parasite, a single celled Protozoan, Plasmodium is what caused the evolution of sickle cell anaemia in the tropical regions of Africa and perhaps saved West Africans from extended colonisation
The female Anopheles mosquito is the primary host in which the parasite mates, develops then migrates to the salivary glands. When it bites a human, it injects its saliva first, to prevent the blood from clotting and alongside, the drawing of blood, the parasites gain entry into human blood which then becomes infected.. In humans they are taken to the liver where they mature and are then carried back into the blood. When a person is bitten again by other mosquitoes they are sucked up to repeat the cycle.
Malaria prevented the English from settling on the West Coast which was dubbed the \`\`White man's grave´´.
Perhaps the mosquito has been the animal that has changed the course of history more than any other organism. The Romans as far back as 3000 BC and recently by modern Italians were unable to settle in several North African regions because mosquitoes were rife and through malaria killed them in droves.
The Italians thought the disease was due to the warm air of the Tropics which caused rapid decompositio,n so they called the disease "Bad Air" or "mal aire" in Latin. In one of the most fascinating cause and effect stories in scientific history, they made sure to clear all dirt and standing water where they lived. The action unknowingly, prevented the mosquito larvae from breeding in standing water. This erroneous but effective response carried a wrong impression for thousand of years in scientific and medical world.
In the 1800s a British physicain Dr Ronald Ross working in India in classic and painstaking experiments discovered the life cycle of the Anopheles mosquito. He allowed himself to be bitten by uninfected and infected mosquitoes, took samples and dissected the insect anddid tests to trace the path and transmission of the Protozoan parasite. His claims were first scoffed at ,but his results produced evidence to support the validity of his theories. For this his name has been immortalised in the annals of painstaking scientific investigations
How is it related to sickle cell?
In a genetic defect, the Red Bood Cells can become elongated like a sickle (a farm implement.) Individuals with this defect are prone to several diseases and die early because the red cells which should be circular cannot carry as much blood as normal platelike ones. When a person marries a healthy person the offsprings would receive only half ,(heterozygotes). By some chance of nature such heterozygotes are immune to malaria but normal individualw die from malaria. Somehow the detrimental effect of sickle cell anaemia is balanced by the beneficial effects of the heterozygous, this called , Balanced Polymorphism.
For this reason areas with high incidence of malaria have high levels of sickle cell persons. Were it not for this advantage ,the sickle cell allele would have died out. This case of selective advantage is a good example of natural selection. Some Black Africans whose ancestors were enslaved and taken to the US still carry the gene but there are no parasites to produce the described effect.
The Anopheles mosquto is perhaps the one consequential organism that changed the course of history in Africa
Changed the course of history in Africa and the world as a whole. They were used as biological weapons during warfare, they wiped out a huge population of the dinosaurs setting a tone for their extinction. Mosquitoes have killed more humans in history than any other predator… or wars…
Not just Ghana, the situation was the same for almost all countries in Africa except for the South African regions. Favorable Climate and lack of mosquitoes is the reason the colonisers thrived in those countries
This is like a double edged sword. The colonizers would have caused a lot of injustice and murder if it wasn't for the mosquitoes yet the mosquitoes have caused a lot of health problems and killed plenty in Ghana.
Colonization of Africa happened later than other places because it was impossible without quinine which is an anti malarial and what is added to tonic water.
While I do agree with the statement that mosquitoes, and the harsh enviornment, made wide spread European settlement in Ghana, I do not think we had a widespread segregationist system during colonial rule. Aside from a few neighborhoods, and the civil service, racial discrimination was rather minor. Other major isntitutions for example, like Achimota School, were integrated. However, had more Europeans migrated to Ghana, there is a likely chance that the colonial government would have institution such laws.
Despite this, we should not equate European migration to Ghana nowadays, or the migration of any non-African group to Ghana, as inherently bad!
One policy of the British upper class was to find ways to get rid of their underclass. The concept of prisons did not exist then until the early 1800s. Prior to that, criminals were summarily executed after trials.
Later policy involved shipping them to Australia to render them useful to the crown. The tropics were excluded for being the "white man's grave"
Were it not for malaria, they would have turned Africa's West coast into Australia, where the native population would be confined to small enclaves.
They were unable to settle for short periods before quinine was discovered in the 1820s.
Most of the European colonisation force had just a handful of white people because of the terror of malaria.
In fact, the colonial force involved in the famous Yaa Asantewa war had less than 18 British soldiers all officers. The entire force of about 700 was made up of Hausa soldiers, mulatos, and a few coastal people.
Imagine. If it wasn't for the mosquitoes, multitudes of British peasants, laborers, and criminals would have migrated to the fertile and "free" lands of West Africa and lorded over Africans like the Boers did.
The mosquito should be continental animal of Africa
Thanks OP for your submission. This sub is heavily moderated by Auto Mod and your post may be mistakenly removed automatically. Please send a message to the mods or u/JuliusCeaserBoneHead for manual approval. Before you do that, make sure your post does not break any of r/Ghana rules especially rule 4 (No Self Promotion). *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/ghana) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Incidentally, the presence of the malarial parasite, a single celled Protozoan, Plasmodium is what caused the evolution of sickle cell anaemia in the tropical regions of Africa and perhaps saved West Africans from extended colonisation The female Anopheles mosquito is the primary host in which the parasite mates, develops then migrates to the salivary glands. When it bites a human, it injects its saliva first, to prevent the blood from clotting and alongside, the drawing of blood, the parasites gain entry into human blood which then becomes infected.. In humans they are taken to the liver where they mature and are then carried back into the blood. When a person is bitten again by other mosquitoes they are sucked up to repeat the cycle. Malaria prevented the English from settling on the West Coast which was dubbed the \`\`White man's grave´´. Perhaps the mosquito has been the animal that has changed the course of history more than any other organism. The Romans as far back as 3000 BC and recently by modern Italians were unable to settle in several North African regions because mosquitoes were rife and through malaria killed them in droves. The Italians thought the disease was due to the warm air of the Tropics which caused rapid decompositio,n so they called the disease "Bad Air" or "mal aire" in Latin. In one of the most fascinating cause and effect stories in scientific history, they made sure to clear all dirt and standing water where they lived. The action unknowingly, prevented the mosquito larvae from breeding in standing water. This erroneous but effective response carried a wrong impression for thousand of years in scientific and medical world. In the 1800s a British physicain Dr Ronald Ross working in India in classic and painstaking experiments discovered the life cycle of the Anopheles mosquito. He allowed himself to be bitten by uninfected and infected mosquitoes, took samples and dissected the insect anddid tests to trace the path and transmission of the Protozoan parasite. His claims were first scoffed at ,but his results produced evidence to support the validity of his theories. For this his name has been immortalised in the annals of painstaking scientific investigations How is it related to sickle cell? In a genetic defect, the Red Bood Cells can become elongated like a sickle (a farm implement.) Individuals with this defect are prone to several diseases and die early because the red cells which should be circular cannot carry as much blood as normal platelike ones. When a person marries a healthy person the offsprings would receive only half ,(heterozygotes). By some chance of nature such heterozygotes are immune to malaria but normal individualw die from malaria. Somehow the detrimental effect of sickle cell anaemia is balanced by the beneficial effects of the heterozygous, this called , Balanced Polymorphism. For this reason areas with high incidence of malaria have high levels of sickle cell persons. Were it not for this advantage ,the sickle cell allele would have died out. This case of selective advantage is a good example of natural selection. Some Black Africans whose ancestors were enslaved and taken to the US still carry the gene but there are no parasites to produce the described effect. The Anopheles mosquto is perhaps the one consequential organism that changed the course of history in Africa
Wa yɛ adea paa 👏🏾
Changed the course of history in Africa and the world as a whole. They were used as biological weapons during warfare, they wiped out a huge population of the dinosaurs setting a tone for their extinction. Mosquitoes have killed more humans in history than any other predator… or wars…
Not just Ghana, the situation was the same for almost all countries in Africa except for the South African regions. Favorable Climate and lack of mosquitoes is the reason the colonisers thrived in those countries
This is like a double edged sword. The colonizers would have caused a lot of injustice and murder if it wasn't for the mosquitoes yet the mosquitoes have caused a lot of health problems and killed plenty in Ghana.
Colonization of Africa happened later than other places because it was impossible without quinine which is an anti malarial and what is added to tonic water.
Not only South Africa, remember New Zealand, Australia, and Canada. -the Aborigines and the natives of Canada came on the receiving end
See also why the French abandoned their first capital at Grand Bassam (which had a "European Quarter").
Always amazing realising how much influence mosquitoes have had on the world as whole. Apex predators them lot.
It only delayed the inevitable, mosquito's and tsetse fly are the worst of all creations.
While I do agree with the statement that mosquitoes, and the harsh enviornment, made wide spread European settlement in Ghana, I do not think we had a widespread segregationist system during colonial rule. Aside from a few neighborhoods, and the civil service, racial discrimination was rather minor. Other major isntitutions for example, like Achimota School, were integrated. However, had more Europeans migrated to Ghana, there is a likely chance that the colonial government would have institution such laws. Despite this, we should not equate European migration to Ghana nowadays, or the migration of any non-African group to Ghana, as inherently bad!
One policy of the British upper class was to find ways to get rid of their underclass. The concept of prisons did not exist then until the early 1800s. Prior to that, criminals were summarily executed after trials. Later policy involved shipping them to Australia to render them useful to the crown. The tropics were excluded for being the "white man's grave" Were it not for malaria, they would have turned Africa's West coast into Australia, where the native population would be confined to small enclaves. They were unable to settle for short periods before quinine was discovered in the 1820s. Most of the European colonisation force had just a handful of white people because of the terror of malaria. In fact, the colonial force involved in the famous Yaa Asantewa war had less than 18 British soldiers all officers. The entire force of about 700 was made up of Hausa soldiers, mulatos, and a few coastal people. Imagine. If it wasn't for the mosquitoes, multitudes of British peasants, laborers, and criminals would have migrated to the fertile and "free" lands of West Africa and lorded over Africans like the Boers did. The mosquito should be continental animal of Africa