Quinine was used as a muscle relaxant by the Quechua people, who are indigenous to Peru, Bolivia and Ecuador, to halt shivering due to low temperatures.
The Quechua would mix the ground bark of cinchona trees with sweetened water to offset the bark's bitter taste, thus producing something similar to tonic water.

Spanish Jesuit missionaries were the first to bring cinchona to Europe.
 The Spanish had observed the Quechua's use of cinchona and were aware of the medicinal properties of cinchona bark by the 1570s or earlier:  Nicolás Monardes (1571) and Juan Fragoso (1572) both described a tree, which was subsequently identified as the cinchona tree, whose bark was used to produce a drink to treat diarrhea.
Quinine has been used in unextracted form by Europeans since at least the early 17th century.

It was first used to treat malaria in Rome in 1631.
A popular story of how it was brought to Europe by the Countess of Chinchon was debunked by medical historian Alec Haggis around 1941.
During the 17th century, malaria was endemic to the swamps and marshes surrounding the city of Rome.
It had caused the deaths of several popes, many cardinals and countless common Roman citizens.
Most of the Catholic priests trained in Rome had seen malaria victims and were familiar with the shivering brought on by the febrile phase of the disease.

The Jesuit brother Agostino Salumbrino (1564–1642), an apothecary by training who lived in Lima (now in present-day Peru), observed the Quechua using the bark of the cinchona tree to treat such shivering.
While its effect in treating malaria (and malaria-induced shivering) was unrelated to its effect in controlling shivering from rigors, it was a successful medicine against malaria.
At the first opportunity, Salumbrino sent a small quantity to Rome for testing as a malaria treatment.
In the years that followed, cinchona bark, known as Jesuit's bark or Peruvian bark, became one of the most valuable commodities shipped from Peru to Europe.
When King Charles II was cured of malaria at the end of the 17th Century with quinine, it became popular in London.
It remained the antimalarial drug of choice until the 1940s, when other drugs took over.

The form of quinine most effective in treating malaria was found by Charles Marie de La Condamine in 1737.
In 1820, French researchers Pierre Joseph Pelletier and Joseph Bienaimé Caventou first isolated quinine from the bark of a tree in the genus Cinchona – probably Cinchona officinalis – and subsequently named the substance.
The name was derived from the original Quechua (Inca) word for the cinchona tree bark, quina or quina-quina, which means "bark of bark" or "holy bark".
Prior to 1820, the bark was dried, ground to a fine powder, and mixed into a liquid (commonly wine) in order to be drunk.
Large-scale use of quinine as a malaria prophylaxis started around 1850.
In 1853 Paul Briquet published a brief history and discussion of the literature on "quinquina".

Quinine played a significant role in the colonization of Africa by Europeans.
The availability of quinine for treatment had been said to be the prime reason Africa ceased to be known as the "white man's grave".
A historian said, "it was quinine's efficacy that gave colonists fresh opportunities to swarm into the Gold Coast, Nigeria and other parts of west Africa".

To maintain their monopoly on cinchona bark, Peru and surrounding countries began outlawing the export of cinchona seeds and saplings in the early 19th century.
The Dutch government persisted in its attempts to smuggle the seeds, and by the late 19th century the Dutch grew the plants in Indonesian plantations.
Soon they became the main suppliers of the tree.
In 1913 they set up the Kina Bureau, a cartel of cinchona producers charged with controlling price and production.
By the 1930s Dutch plantations in Java were producing 22 million pounds of cinchona bark, or 97% of the world's quinine production.
U.S. attempts to prosecute the Kina Bureau proved unsuccessful.

During World War II, Allied powers were cut off from their supply of quinine when Germany
Quinine was used as a muscle relaxant by the Quechua people, who are indigenous to Peru, Bolivia and Ecuador, to halt shivering due to low temperatures. The Quechua would mix the ground bark of cinchona trees with sweetened water to offset the bark's bitter taste, thus producing something similar to tonic water.
Spanish Jesuit missionaries were the first to bring cinchona to Europe.  The Spanish had observed the Quechua's use of cinchona and were aware of the medicinal properties of cinchona bark by the 1570s or earlier:  Nicolás Monardes (1571) and Juan Fragoso (1572) both described a tree, which was subsequently identified as the cinchona tree, whose bark was used to produce a drink to treat diarrhea. Quinine has been used in unextracted form by Europeans since at least the early 17th century.
It was first used to treat malaria in Rome in 1631. A popular story of how it was brought to Europe by the Countess of Chinchon was debunked by medical historian Alec Haggis around 1941. During the 17th century, malaria was endemic to the swamps and marshes surrounding the city of Rome. It had caused the deaths of several popes, many cardinals and countless common Roman citizens. Most of the Catholic priests trained in Rome had seen malaria victims and were familiar with the shivering brought on by the febrile phase of the disease.
The Jesuit brother Agostino Salumbrino (1564–1642), an apothecary by training who lived in Lima (now in present-day Peru), observed the Quechua using the bark of the cinchona tree to treat such shivering. While its effect in treating malaria (and malaria-induced shivering) was unrelated to its effect in controlling shivering from rigors, it was a successful medicine against malaria. At the first opportunity, Salumbrino sent a small quantity to Rome for testing as a malaria treatment. In the years that followed, cinchona bark, known as Jesuit's bark or Peruvian bark, became one of the most valuable commodities shipped from Peru to Europe. When King Charles II was cured of malaria at the end of the 17th Century with quinine, it became popular in London. It remained the antimalarial drug of choice until the 1940s, when other drugs took over.
The form of quinine most effective in treating malaria was found by Charles Marie de La Condamine in 1737. In 1820, French researchers Pierre Joseph Pelletier and Joseph Bienaimé Caventou first isolated quinine from the bark of a tree in the genus Cinchona – probably Cinchona officinalis – and subsequently named the substance. The name was derived from the original Quechua (Inca) word for the cinchona tree bark, quina or quina-quina, which means "bark of bark" or "holy bark". Prior to 1820, the bark was dried, ground to a fine powder, and mixed into a liquid (commonly wine) in order to be drunk. Large-scale use of quinine as a malaria prophylaxis started around 1850. In 1853 Paul Briquet published a brief history and discussion of the literature on "quinquina".
Quinine played a significant role in the colonization of Africa by Europeans. The availability of quinine for treatment had been said to be the prime reason Africa ceased to be known as the "white man's grave". A historian said, "it was quinine's efficacy that gave colonists fresh opportunities to swarm into the Gold Coast, Nigeria and other parts of west Africa".
To maintain their monopoly on cinchona bark, Peru and surrounding countries began outlawing the export of cinchona seeds and saplings in the early 19th century. The Dutch government persisted in its attempts to smuggle the seeds, and by the late 19th century the Dutch grew the plants in Indonesian plantations. Soon they became the main suppliers of the tree. In 1913 they set up the Kina Bureau, a cartel of cinchona producers charged with controlling price and production. By the 1930s Dutch plantations in Java were producing 22 million pounds of cinchona bark, or 97% of the world's quinine production. U.S. attempts to prosecute the Kina Bureau proved unsuccessful.
During World War II, Allied powers were cut off from their supply of quinine when Germany
Quinine