Magyar László szerk.: Orvostörténeti Közlemények 174-177. (Budapest, 2001)

TANULMÁNYOK — ARTICLES - Máthé-Shires László: Who Lives Where? British Anti-Malaria Policy in Southern-Nigeria (1899-1912)

his ways during his remaining years in the service. The Lagos policy which evolved to be a combination of personal and community preventive measures including drainage and mosquito reduction, the widespread and free usage of quinine and the construction of mosquito free houses. With the amalgamation of the southern protectorate and Lagos colony, since the latter had a more developed structure of administration desired by the CO, the medical department went through only minor reconstructing attempts. This included the nomination of two other Senior Medical Officers but left untouched the administrative structure and what was more important, Strachan as the PMO of the new territory. The anti-malaria policy especially with regards to the rejection of the application or implementation of segregation did not change until he retired in 1911. Strachan insisted on the use of preventive measures on houses. He probably based on his experiences on the massive and almost impossible Lagos sanitation projects — the drainage which initially was successful but reached enormous costs — proposed the personal antimosquito measures including the use of bed-nets and wire-gauze. Also the distribution of free quinine to all who applied from government stores and the reduction of mosquito breeding places in the neighbourhood of human dwelling places were all propagated and used as the colony's antimalaria policy from as early as 190S.

40 The amount spent on free quinine distribution was increasing annually and it reached the sum of L 1129 in 1909 although it dropped to L 440 in 1910.

41 The basic guidelines of this policy — which was in fact the continuation of Lagos policy changed only in 1912. By this time Strachan retired from active service in 1911.

42 Walter Egerton, who became the governor of Southern Nigeria in 1906, after being the protectorate's High Commissioner from 1903, played an important role in regards to the development of the segregation scheme in Nigeria. His 'antinative proclivities'

43 represented a different colonial administrator and a different colonial tradition of AfricanEuropean coexistence in Southern Nigeria when compared to MacGregor's achievements. As for Egerton'

s segregation policy, probably his single most important and most publicised contribution was the Race Course project in Lagos. This was aiming at the removal of African houses from the vicinity of the Lagos Race Course to create homes for European officials.

44 The governor's plan would have involved the expropriation of land, which was inhabited by almost 2,000 Africans. Albeit similar to the earlier Gold Coast projects, this initiative received much criticism and opposition from the Lagosian African elite. The developed and often quite critical local press voiced the criticism over the excessive and ignorant attitude of the new governor.

45 It must be remembered that the bitterness the Lagosians 40 Annual Report Medical Department Eastern, Western and Central Province (Annual Medical Report) 1907. CO 592/ 3 41 For the Annual Medical Reports CO 592/7 and /9. The L 1129 for quinine distribution came as a sort of surprise in London. Some exchanges of notes revealed that the unusually high amount of money was needed as quinine tablets were coated in chocolate to disguise its bitter flavour for the African children. This process was promptly stopped. For details on the correspondence, see, Egerton to CO, 10

th March 1911, Confidential Print Africa No. 959.Doc 54A, CO 879/107. 42 Annual Medical Report Southern Nigeria 1911. CO 592/13. 43 A phrase attributed to his actions by Thomas Gale. See Gale, 'Official medical', 19. 44 Egerton to Elgin, 2

nd December 1907, CO 520/50 and Egerton to CO, 27

th January 1908, CO 520/58. 45 Gale, Thomas, 'Lagos: The history of British colonial neglect of traditional African cities", in African Urban Studies, 5 (1979), 11—24. but esp. 17—18. Perhaps the most important and far-reaching event in the history of