Napoleon's Buttons

1. Small molecules, immense impact: How chemistry shaped history.

The idea that momentous events may depend on something as small as a molecule—a group of two or more atoms held together in a definite arrangement—offers a novel approach to understanding the growth of human civilization.

Beyond metals. While metals like gold, silver, and iron are often credited with shaping epochs and driving empires, the true unsung heroes of history are often molecules. These compounds, formed from combinations of elements, possess unique properties that have dictated human actions, trade routes, and societal structures in ways far more pervasive than mere elemental wealth. Their specific arrangements of atoms, sometimes differing by only a single bond, unlock capabilities that ripple through time.

A chemical lens. Viewing history through the lens of chemistry reveals surprising connections. The disintegration of tin buttons might have contributed to Napoleon's defeat, altering the map of Europe. The search for fragrant spice molecules fueled the Age of Discovery, leading to the "exchange" of Manhattan for a tiny island rich in nutmeg. These seemingly disparate events are tied together by the chemical properties of the molecules involved, demonstrating how molecular structure underpins historical outcomes.

Unseen architects. This book is not a history of chemistry, but rather about chemistry in history. It explores how specific compounds, both natural and synthetic, have acted as unseen architects of civilization. From driving exploration and colonization to changing what we eat, wear, and heal with, molecules have been pivotal forces, often more influential than the grand strategies of generals or the decrees of kings.

2. The Spice Race: Molecules that launched global exploration and trade.

CH RISTOS E ESPICIARIAS! —for Christ and spices—was the jubilant cry from Vasco da Gama’s sailors as, in May 1498, they approached India and the goal of gaining untold wealth from spices that for centuries had been the monopoly of the merchants of Venice.

Aromatic allure. The demand for spices like pepper, nutmeg, and cloves in medieval Europe was immense, driven by their use in food preservation, flavoring, medicine, and even perceived protection against plague. These fragrant molecules, such as piperine (pepper), eugenol (cloves), and isoeugenol (nutmeg), were so valuable they were traded like gold, creating vast fortunes for cities like Venice and motivating other nations to seek direct routes to their sources.

Age of Discovery. The desire to bypass Venetian and Arab middlemen and access the Spice Islands directly spurred unprecedented feats of exploration. Portugal pioneered sea routes around Africa, while Spain financed Columbus's westward voyages in search of the Indies. The Treaty of Breda in 1667, which saw the Dutch trade their claim to Manhattan for the English claim to the nutmeg-rich island of Run, starkly illustrates the extraordinary value placed on these molecules.

Molecular properties. The value of these spices lay in their volatile, aromatic molecules. Plants evolved these compounds as natural pesticides and defenses, but humans prized them for their sensory and preservative qualities. The slight structural differences between molecules like eugenol and isoeugenol resulted in distinct aromas and properties, driving intense competition and conflict for control of their limited geographic sources.

3. Survival at Sea: Vitamin C and the challenges of long voyages.

Over 90 percent of his crew didn’t survive Magellan’s 1519–1522 circumnavigation of the world—in large part due to scurvy, a devastating disease caused by a deficiency of the ascorbic acid molecule, dietary vitamin C.

The scourge of scurvy. While the Age of Discovery was fueled by the lure of spices, it was nearly undone by the lack of a single molecule: ascorbic acid, or vitamin C. Scurvy, a horrific disease caused by its deficiency, decimated crews on long voyages, killing more sailors than battles, piracy, and shipwrecks combined for centuries. Symptoms ranged from weakness and bleeding gums to organ failure and death.

A simple solution ignored. Despite ancient knowledge of scurvy-preventing foods and early reports of citrus fruit's effectiveness, the remedy was largely ignored by naval authorities for centuries. Logistical challenges in storing fresh produce and a prevailing belief in miasma or tainted food as the cause hindered adoption. James Lind's controlled clinical trials in 1747 definitively proved citrus juice cured scurvy, yet it took the British navy over 40 years to mandate its use.

Cook's triumph. Captain James Cook stands out as the first commander to eliminate scurvy on his voyages, not through a new discovery, but by rigorously enforcing diet and hygiene standards, including the consumption of sauerkraut and fresh greens whenever possible. His success, recognized by the Royal Society, demonstrated that scurvy was preventable, enabling unprecedented feats of exploration and charting, fundamentally altering the world map.

4. Fueling Revolutions: Sugar, Cotton, and the engine of industrial change.

According to some estimates, around two-thirds of African slaves in the New World labored on sugar plantations.

Sweet and costly. Glucose, the simple sugar molecule, became a driving force behind one of history's most brutal enterprises: the transatlantic slave trade. As sugar cultivation spread from the Middle East to the New World, the labor-intensive process created an insatiable demand for workers. Native populations decimated by disease and European indentured servants proved insufficient, leading colonists to turn to Africa.

The trade triangle. Sugar became the primary commodity fueling the Great Circuit trade triangle, where manufactured goods from Europe were exchanged for slaves in Africa, who were then transported to the Americas to produce sugar (and later cotton, tobacco, and rum) for export back to Europe. This immensely profitable system generated the capital necessary to ignite the Industrial Revolution, particularly in Britain.

Cotton's dominance. While sugar provided the initial capital, cotton became the engine of the British Industrial Revolution. The demand for raw cotton from the American South, cultivated by enslaved labor, soared, driving technological innovation in textile manufacturing and transforming the English Midlands into a landscape of factories and urban slums. Cotton profits sustained slavery in the U.S., linking the molecule directly to the Civil War and the fate of millions.

5. Explosive Power: Nitro compounds transforming conflict and construction.

Although the structures of explosive molecules vary widely, most often they contain a nitro group.

Unleashing energy. The nitro group (NO₂) is a small combination of atoms that, when incorporated into molecules, can unlock immense, rapid energy release. From ancient gunpowder (a mixture containing potassium nitrate) to modern high explosives like TNT and PETN, these molecules have fundamentally altered human conflict and enabled monumental engineering feats.

From black powder to dynamite. Gunpowder, the first explosive, revolutionized warfare by propelling projectiles. Its relatively slow burn was suitable for early firearms. The discovery of nitroglycerin, a highly unstable nitro compound, offered vastly greater power but posed extreme handling risks. Alfred Nobel's invention of dynamite, stabilizing nitroglycerin with kieselguhr, made this power controllable, enabling large-scale mining, tunnel construction, and railway building.

Warfare and industry. Nitro compounds became central to 20th-century warfare. TNT replaced picric acid as the preferred military explosive due to its stability and ease of use. The need for nitrates to produce explosives spurred the development of the Haber process for synthesizing ammonia from atmospheric nitrogen, a process also vital for fertilizers. This chemical innovation became a strategic necessity, influencing the course of World War I and beyond.

6. From Nature to Lab: Synthetic materials born from natural molecules.

But because silk was so expensive and the demand for it so great, numerous attempts were made, beginning in the late nineteenth century, to produce a synthetic version.

Mimicking nature. The desire to replicate the desirable properties of natural materials like silk and rubber, often limited in supply or geographically restricted, drove chemists to create synthetic alternatives. These efforts, initially based on modifying natural polymers, laid the groundwork for entirely new industries.

Artificial silk. Silk, a protein polymer, was highly prized but costly. Early attempts to create artificial silk, like Chardonnet's flammable nitrocellulose-based fiber, were fraught with problems. The development of viscose rayon, a regenerated cellulose fiber, offered a more practical alternative, mimicking silk's luster but lacking its strength and elasticity when wet.

Nylon and rubber. The quest for a better artificial silk led Wallace Carothers at Du Pont to synthesize nylon, the first truly synthetic fiber, a polyamide with a structure chemically similar to silk's protein chains. Nylon's success revolutionized the textile industry and provided crucial materials during WWII. Similarly, the need for rubber, initially sourced from wild trees and later plantations, spurred the development of synthetic rubbers like SBR, vital during wartime blockades and now ubiquitous in modern life.

7. The Dawn of Modern Medicine: Dyes and plant extracts leading to wonder drugs.

But even he likely could not have predicted that his legacy would include one of the major developments evolving from the dye industry: pharmaceuticals.

Coloring the path. The vibrant world of synthetic dyes, ignited by William Henry Perkin's accidental discovery of mauveine, became an unexpected springboard for the modern pharmaceutical industry. The chemical knowledge, manufacturing techniques, and corporate structures developed for dye production proved directly applicable to synthesizing medicinal compounds.

Magic bullets. Paul Ehrlich, inspired by how dyes selectively stained tissues and microorganisms, pursued the idea of "magic bullets"—molecules that could target and kill disease-causing microbes without harming the host. His work led to salvarsan, an arsenic compound effective against syphilis, demonstrating the potential of chemotherapy.

Sulfa and Penicillin. The discovery that the dye prontosil red broke down in the body to release sulfanilamide, an effective antibacterial, launched the era of sulfa drugs, the first widely used synthetic antibiotics. Simultaneously, the serendipitous discovery and subsequent isolation and mass production of penicillin from mold provided the first true antibiotic of microbial origin. These "wonder drugs" dramatically reduced mortality from infectious diseases, fundamentally changing human life expectancy.

8. Steroids: Reshaping health and society from cortisone to contraception.

Despite the varying opinions on the benefits or disadvantages of this molecule, it has played an important role in the enormous changes in society in the forty or so years since the pill was introduced.

The steroid backbone. Steroids, a class of molecules sharing a common four-ring structure, include vital hormones like testosterone, estradiol, and progesterone. These compounds, present in minute quantities in animals, were initially difficult and expensive to obtain for research or medical use.

Marker's breakthrough. Chemist Russell Marker's relentless pursuit of plant sources led him to discover abundant steroid sapogenins in wild Mexican yams. His development of the "Marker degradation" process allowed chemists to efficiently convert these plant steroids into progesterone and other hormones on a large scale, dramatically lowering their cost and making research and therapeutic use feasible.

The Pill's genesis. Building on Marker's work, chemists like Carl Djerassi synthesized artificial progestins, molecules with progesterone-like activity that could be taken orally. Initially developed for treating menstrual disorders and infertility, one such molecule, norethindrone, became the active ingredient in the first birth control pill. Its widespread availability granted women unprecedented control over their fertility, contributing significantly to social changes like the women's liberation movement and increased female participation in the workforce.

9. Alkaloids: Potent plant compounds influencing minds, trade, and addiction.

Given the human tendency to desire those things that make us feel good, it is not surprising that three different alkaloid molecules—morphine from the opium poppy, nicotine in tobacco, and caffeine in tea, coffee, and cocoa—have been sought out and prized for millennia.

Nature's pharmacy and poison. Alkaloids, nitrogen-containing plant compounds, are often physiologically active, particularly affecting the nervous system. Plants evolved them as defenses, but humans have long exploited them for medicinal, ritualistic, and recreational purposes, often with profound consequences.

Opium, Tobacco, Tea. The desire for three specific alkaloids – morphine (opium), nicotine (tobacco), and caffeine (tea, coffee, cocoa) – converged dramatically in the 19th century. European demand for Chinese tea (caffeine) led Britain to trade opium (morphine) grown in India, despite China's ban. This illegal trade, exacerbated by the spread of tobacco smoking (nicotine) as a method for consuming opium, ignited the Opium Wars, forcing China to open to foreign trade and marking a turning point in its history.

Addiction and impact. Beyond trade wars, these alkaloids have shaped societies through addiction, labor systems (slavery on tobacco and coffee plantations), and cultural practices. Morphine and its derivatives remain vital pain relievers but are also central to global drug crises. Nicotine, a potent insecticide, is the addictive agent in tobacco, a leading cause of preventable death. Caffeine, the world's most widely consumed psychoactive drug, fuels daily routines and has driven the economies of coffee and tea-producing nations.

10. Ancient Staples: Salt and Olive Oil as cornerstones of early civilizations and trade.

The history of common salt—sodium chloride, with a chemical formula of NaCl—parallels the history of human civilization.

White gold and liquid gold. Salt (NaCl) and olive oil (rich in oleic acid) were ancient essentials, vital for survival, food preservation, and trade in the Mediterranean and beyond. Their uneven distribution made them valuable commodities, driving exploration, conflict, and the growth of cities and empires.

Salt's power. Salt's necessity for diet and preservation, coupled with its specific production methods (evaporation, mining, boiling brine), made it uniquely suited for political control and taxation. The Roman Via Salaria transported salt, and the French gabelle, a hated salt tax, contributed to the French Revolution. Control of salt supplies was a strategic military objective and a tool of colonial oppression, as seen in British India.

Olive oil's legacy. Olive oil was the lifeblood of Mediterranean civilizations, used for food, fuel, cosmetics, and medicine. Its trade fostered economic growth in ancient Greece, providing the prosperity that allowed for the development of democracy, philosophy, and the arts. Later, olive oil became the basis for high-quality castile soap, contributing to hygiene and public health, particularly in Europe.

11. The Double-Edged Sword: Chlorocarbons and the unintended consequences of chemical innovation.

What is perhaps surprising, however, is that organic compounds containing chlorine have shown this “dark side” more than any other group of organic compounds.

Beneficial but dangerous. Organic molecules containing chlorine have often been hailed as wonder compounds for their unique properties, only to reveal unexpected and severe environmental or health consequences. This dichotomy is a recurring theme in chemical innovation.

Refrigeration and ozone depletion. The search for safe refrigerants led to the development of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) like Freon. These stable, non-flammable, non-toxic molecules revolutionized refrigeration and air conditioning, transforming food storage, transport, and comfort. However, their very stability allowed them to reach the stratosphere, where chlorine atoms catalyzed the destruction of the protective ozone layer, a devastating unintended consequence.

Toxicity and persistence. Other chlorocarbons, like PCBs and chlorinated pesticides (e.g., DDT, Agent Orange components), were developed for their industrial utility or pest-killing power. Their stability meant they persisted in the environment, bioaccumulating up the food chain and causing widespread harm to wildlife and human health, leading to bans and ongoing cleanup challenges.

Anesthetics and poisons. Not all chlorocarbons are villains; chloroform revolutionized surgery as an anesthetic, though it later proved toxic. However, chlorine gas, mustard gas, and phosgene were deliberately used as chemical weapons. The history of chlorocarbons is a stark reminder that the full impact of synthetic molecules may not be understood for decades, and that chemical innovation carries significant responsibility.

Last updated: June 1, 2025