How one of the world’s richest companies rose to power - Shantel George

In 1910, the Antarctic Nimrod Expedition was in trouble.

Led by Ernest Shackleton,

the team had set the record for the southernmost point ever reached.

But after miscalculating how long it would take to return

to the nearest supply depot,

the crew had run out of food.

Fatigued and desperate, they turned to their medical kit.

It contained a drug called “Forced March tablets,”

which promised to mitigate hunger and prolong endurance,

thanks to the powerful combination of its two ingredients:

cocaine, and the extract of the African kola nut.

After taking the pills, the team was able to push through and reach safety.

So how did the kola nut, a sacred ingredient from West Africa,

end up in Shackleton's emergency kit?

And how did this same combination of kola nut and cocaine

make its way into the original recipe of a drink

that billions of people consume every day?

The kola nut is the seed of the kola tree,

a small evergreen native to the tropical forests of West Africa,

where it has long been integral to the cultural fabric of many communities.

Among the Igbo, the bitter nut is known as the food of the gods.

In Igbo homes, its custom to greet and honor guests

by breaking a seed and sharing the lobes.

Within Yoruba communities,

kola plays a central role in many religious ceremonies,

such as weddings, funerals, and divination.

Kola nuts can contain up to 2.5% caffeine,

or about twice the concentration found in coffee beans,

along with trace amounts of theobromine, a structurally similar compound.

Both molecules stimulate the central nervous system,

causing effects like alertness

and increased blood flow to the muscles and lungs.

And it’s these properties that likely led to kola’s long-standing use

in traditional West African medicine.

But there’s also a bitter side to the kola nut’s history.

As early as the 10th century,

it was used by various groups in West Africa as currency

to purchase captives across the Sahara.

And in the 16th century, Portuguese and Afro-Portuguese traders in the region