EUROPEAN DISEASES Essay -- essays research papers fc

The greatest adversary to the natives in the Americas was non the swords or guns of the invaders. It was the de coarseation brought by deadly infirmitys infecting an unsuspecting population that had no immunity to much(prenominal) diseases. The Europeans were said to be thoroughly diseased by the time Columbus set sail on his first navigate (Cowley, 1991). Through the domestication of such animals as pigs, horses, sheep, and cattle, the Europeans exposed themselves to a vast array of pathogens which continued to be spread through wars, explorations, and city-building. Thus every European who crossed the Atlantic was immune to such diseases as rubeola and smallpox be get down of battling them as a child. The original inhabitants traveled to the New humankind in groups of a couple hundred each. Because microbes such as the ones that cause measles and smallpox need populations of several zillion to survive, the original populations were unimpressed by the deadly diseases. Howev er, by the time Columbus arrived, the major Indian groups of Aztecs, Incas, and Mayas had built their populations up enough to sustain mass epidemics. Evidence shows that these populations suffered from such diseases as syphilis, tuberculosis, a few intestinal parasites, and some types of flu, but not the diseases that had been infecting the Old World for centuries. Thus when the Europeans arrived bringing diseases such as smallpox, measles, whooping cough, and so on the natives were immunologically defenseless (Cowley, 1991). It is believed that 40 million to 50 million people dwell the New World before the arrival of Columbus and the Europeans, and that most of them died in spite of appearance a few decades. For example, Mexicos population fell from about 30 million in 1519 to 3 million in 1588. The other South and telephone exchange American countries as well as the Caribbean islands suffered the aforementioned(prenominal) devastation (Cowley, 1991). jalopy epidemics were v irtually unknown in the New World prior to the impingement of the Europeans. Aside from their lack of immunity to the pathogens, another factor in the speedy spread of the diseases could hold back been the weariness of the Indian populations. Due to their recent subjugation and oppression by the Spaniards, the Indians were probably too tired to fight the infections. wholeness thing that must be noted is that contrary to popular belief, infective agents such as viruses, bacteria, parasites, etc. are not desig... ...o be the like syphilis in that it was haunting isolated populations before becoming global. And besides as syphilis was carried globally by ships jet planes and world-wide social changes have brought AIDS out of isolation. Like smallpox and other infectious diseases in the 16th century and AIDS in the 20th century, what new disease will hit and destroy unsuspecting populations? BIBLIOGRAPHY Cowley, Geoffrey. "The Great Disease Migration." Newsweek (Special Is sue, go/Winter 1991) pp. 54-56 Crosby, Alfred W. Jr. The Columbian Exchange Biologicaland Cultural Consequences of 1492, Westport Greenwood Press, 1972 grant Write a short review of this paper for class on Friday.In addition, everyplacewhelming historical evidence suggests that the greatest rates of morbidity and death from infection are associated with the introduction of new diseases from one part of the world to another by processes associated with civilized transport of goods at speeds and over distances outside the range of movements common to hunting and gathering groups. (excerpt from book of same title pp. 131-141) Cohen, M. Health and the Rise of Civilization. New Haven Yale University Press, 1989.