Lyne T. Barret drilled Texas' first producing oil well in 1866 at Melrose in Nacogdoches County. The following year, Amory Reily Starr and Peyton F. Edwards brought in a well at nearby Oil Springs.
Several<span> early attempts were made to produce oil in the </span>area<span>, beginning in 1911, with the failed Millville Oil </span>Company<span>, but drilling technology had not progressed </span>sufficiently<span> to reach oil at the depths it is found there, </span>which<span> are mainly below 3,501 feet (1,067 m); most early </span>wells ended in broken<span> bits, dry holes, and bankrupt </span>operators<span>. </span>Finally<span>, </span>an enterprising<span> Alabama man, </span>Columbus Marion (Dad) Joiner<span>, was the first with </span>enough persistence<span> to succeed, </span>and on October<span> 3, 1930, his Daisy Bradford No. 3 </span>well<span> (named after </span>the widow who owned the farm) hit oil at 3,536 feet<span> (1,078 m) below ground </span>
<span>In the Modern Era, Western Europeans colonised all parts of the continent, culminating in the Scramble for Africa in the late 19th century. A wave of decolonization followed after World War II
