Americapox: The Missing Plague

TL;DR

European explorers brought devastating diseases to the New World, but the lack of domesticated animals hindered the spread of diseases in the opposite direction.

Transcript

Between the first Europeans arriving in 1492 and the Victorian age, the indigenous population of the New World dropped by at least 90%. The cause? Not the conquistadors and company -- they killed lots of people but their death count is nothing compared to what they brought with them: small pox, typhus, tuberculosis, influenza, bubonic plague, chole... Read More

Key Insights

• 👯 Regular diseases didn't have the same devastating impact as plagues, which killed quickly or made people immune.
• 🥺 European cities provided the ideal conditions for plagues to thrive, leading to high death tolls.
• 😋 The lack of domesticated animals in the New World limited exposure to germ sources, food production, population growth, and city development.
• 🤩 Domesticated animals played a key role in bootstrapping complex societies and unintentionally becoming a biological weapon against outsiders.
• 🖤 The lack of domesticated animals in the New World hindered the spread of diseases back to Europe.
• 🌇 The domestication of animals in the Old World led to population growth and the rise of cities, creating conditions for plagues to thrive.
• ❓ The domesticability of animals varies, and not all animals can be domesticated.
• ❓ Taming an animal is different from domesticating it, and domestication requires specific traits and behaviors that can be bred over generations.

Questions & Answers

Q: Why didn't Europeans get sick from New World diseases?

Europeans didn't get sick because the New World didn't have plagues for them to catch. The diseases present in the New World were regular diseases, not plagues. Europeans had better immune systems against these regular diseases.

Q: Why didn't the New World have plagues?

The New World didn't have big, dense, and poorly sanitized cities like Europe did, which provided the ideal environment for plagues to spread. Without these conditions, plagues couldn't thrive in the New World.

Q: How did animals play a role in the spread of diseases?

Plagues come from animals, and they rarely jump to humans. But colonial-age cities, with animals everywhere and unsanitary conditions, increased the chances of animals-to-human transmission. The Old World had more domesticated animals, making the spread of plagues more likely.

Q: Why couldn't the New World domesticate more animals?

The New World lacked good animal candidates for domestication. Most animals in the New World were either too dangerous or too agile for domestication. The Old World had cows, pigs, sheep, and goats, which were easier to domesticate and provided valuable resources.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• Between 1492 and the Victorian age, the indigenous population of the New World declined by at least 90% due to diseases brought by European explorers.

• Plagues, which spread quickly between people and either killed them quickly or made them immune, were the major killers. The New World didn't have plagues for Europeans to catch and spread.

• European cities provided the ideal conditions for plagues to thrive, while the New World lacked densely populated, poorly sanitized cities.