Biological Consequences of the European Expansion, 1450-1800 / Edition 1

by Stephen V. Beck, Kenneth F. Kiple

Overview

’Wherever the European has trod, death seems to pursue the aboriginal.’ So wrote Charles Darwin in 1836. Though there has been considerable discussion concerning their precise demographic impact, reflected in the articles here, there is no doubt that the arrival of new diseases with the Europeans (such as typhus and smallpox) had a catastrophic effect on the indigenous population of the Americas, and later of the Pacific. In the Americas, malaria and yellow fever also came with the slaves from Africa, themselves imported to work the depopulated land. These diseases placed Europeans at risk too, and with some resistance to both disease pools, Africans could have a better chance of survival. Also covered here is the controversy over the origins of syphilis, while the final essays look at agricultural consequences of the European expansion, in terms of nutrition both in North America and in Europe.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780860785187
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	10/16/1997
Series:	An Expanding World: The European Impact on World History, 1450 to 1800
Pages:	406
Product dimensions:	6.88(w) x 9.69(h) x (d)

About the Author

Kenneth F. Kiple and Stephen V. Beck, Bowling Green State University, USA

Table of Contents

Contents: Introduction; The origin and antiquity of syphilis: paleopathological diagnosis and interpretation, Brenda J. Baker and George J. Armelagos; Disease and the depopulation of Hispaniola, 1492-1518, Noble David Cook; New World depopulation and the case of disease, Donald Joralemon; Conquistador y pestilencia: the first New World pandemic and the fall of the great Indian empires, Alfred W. Crosby; An outline of Andean epidemic history to 1720, Henry F. Dobyns; Epidemiology and the slave trade, Philip D. Curtin; The influence of disease on race, logistics, and colonization in the Antilles, Francisco Guerra; Fear of hot climates in the Anglo-American colonial experience, Karen Ordahl Kupperman; Of agues and fevers: malaria in the early Chesapeake, Darrett B. Rutman and Anita H. Rutman; Smallpox and the Indians in the American colonies, John Duffy; The significance of disease in the extinction of the New England Indians, Sherburne F. Cook; Smallpox in aboriginal Australia, 1829-1831, Judy Campbell; Disease and infertility: a new look at the demographic collapse of native populations in the wake of western contact, David E. Stannard; Creative disruptions in American agriculture, 1620-1820, E. L. Jones; Europe’s initial population explosion, William L. Langer; Index.

Editorial Reviews

'A principal objective of the Expanding World series is the establishment of the cross-cultural context of European interaction with non-European populations. The volume under review plays an important role in achieving that goal. It succeeds in bringing together some of the finest, most insightful scholarship from the periodical literature. The collection is highly recommended.' Sixteenth Century Journal 'European and Non-European Societies and Christianity and Missions along with the other volumes in An Expanding World should become a standard collection for any academic library. The invaluable bibliography, the variety of themes, and the historical problems will engage students of all levels, undergraduate, graduate, and postdoctoral, in many aspects of early modern and world history for years to come.' Sixteenth Century Journal

From the Publisher

A collection of research from the 1950s through the early 1990s, transcending the nationalist approach to examine the European presence beyond Europe. Focus is on biological and especially medical and demographic consequences of European expansion in the Americas, with papers on epidemiology and the slave trade, New World depopulation, fear of hot climates in the Anglo-American colonial experience, smallpox in aboriginal Australia, disease and infertility, and Europe's initial population explosion. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

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