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Q: Early European Diseases ( No Answer,   6 Comments )
Question  
Subject: Early European Diseases
Category: Reference, Education and News > Homework Help
Asked by: wonderchic456-ga
List Price: $20.00
Posted: 29 May 2006 11:20 PDT
Expires: 28 Jun 2006 11:20 PDT
Question ID: 733396
What was the one Native disease to be inflicted upon the Europeans?
Answer  
There is no answer at this time.

Comments  
Subject: Re: Early European Diseases
From: pinkfreud-ga on 29 May 2006 11:47 PDT
 
Some might say syphilis, but this is under dispute.

http://www.scienceclarified.com/dispute/Vol-2/Historic-Dispute-Did-syphilis-originate-in-the-New-World-from-which-it-was-brought-to-Europe-by-Christopher-Columbus-and-his-crew.html
Subject: Re: Early European Diseases
From: frde-ga on 30 May 2006 02:50 PDT
 
Well there is tobacco

Recently I read that the USA version of syphilis was so virulent that
sailors would have died on the home trip.

However, the version I read was that Native Americans were brought
back from the New World, they consorted with prostitutes who passed it
on to soldiers.
Subject: Re: Early European Diseases
From: myoarin-ga on 30 May 2006 03:46 PDT
 
Frde,  
Let's not blame syphilis on the "USA".
Myo
Subject: Re: Early European Diseases
From: frde-ga on 30 May 2006 05:38 PDT
 
Ok, not on the USA
- but the Native Indian idea sounds plausible
- to them measles and scarlet fever were lethal (along with a few
others), it seems logical that they had a few reciprocal diseases

Half a dozen active carriers could create a rather nasty outbreak.
Subject: Re: Early European Diseases
From: julie1976-ga on 19 Jun 2006 20:57 PDT
 
If you are being asked a direct question by a teacher, I would ask
them to rephrase thequestion.  If you are looking for info just
because you are currious, you are about to be disappointed.  Native
Americans did not give Europeans syphilis... that is just silly, there
were cases upon cases of that WAY before contact with NA>  There are
cases back tothe ancient greeks, even before that, Archeologists have
a way of testing OLD human remains for thi among other std's.

If you think about it, were do you think deseases are likly to grow,
evolve and mutate for many (bacteria) generations?  THe slums of over
populated London, or the clean fresh way under populated air of NA?

The answer to our question is NONE, the natives did not have anything
comparable to small pox, meseals, the black plague ect... not even
syphilis.  There is a reason for this, and it has to do with the
generations of bacteria.

Get ready, this might take a while.

There was a point when the Native people now of north america broke
off contact with europe and migrated.  At this time there were
probably deseases that they brought with them, and these deseases were
likely related o those in europe.  However, the bacteria did not have
the mutating advantages as it did in Europe.  The key to this is Human
population in the area of the germ.  Eventually everyone who' immune
system couldnt handle it, died, and those who beat it lived. Now think
like the chicken pox... you only get it once.

Because of low population in areas of NA native tribes, by the time
the germ made its round, it killed every one it could,and every one
else was immune, there was no one to carry the germ.  In europe
however, espessually in the later years, there was tons of people
crammed into small areas.  The germ (rooted from the same germs as the
indians had) made a round, and by the time it made its way through all
of those people, it had itself gone through many generations of
bacteria life, mutating a little with each one. By the time it got
back to where it started, it was almost a diffrent bacteria, and there
were no immunitits.

Now think about what happens when the natives met the europeans.  The
europeans have very advanced germs... 1000's of times stronger than
anything the natives still have kicking aound, if anything at all
(remember there were alot of years for the desise to die out because
it was unable to move around among the small populations long enough
to mutate.)  Anything the europeans had were like Super Germs, the
natives immune systems didnt have a chance.  However, the europeans
had immune systems that could take what the indians had with out
flinching, their imune systems were built up enought to handle the big
desises now... Hence, the europeans gave everything to the natives,
but the natives had nothing strong enough to give back.
Subject: Re: Early European Diseases
From: frde-ga on 20 Jun 2006 06:28 PDT
 
Well Julie of 1976,

I cannot agree with that, for a start there are bacteria, viruse and
something a bit more complex - syphillis is more complex.

Immunity in a large place is no different from immunity in a small place.

Should the populations 'meet each other', there is no reason why a
small population should not 'transmit' something that is lethal to a
large population.

Actually, a larger population is likely to have less vicious strains
of viruse, bacteria or protozoa, as the more virulent versions /kill
quickly/ rather than spread - so mild infections survive while lethal
ones kill themselves.

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