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> I've always wondered why this wasn't a two-way street. Wouldn't native people also have diseases to share? They did: syphilis! But the Europeans had far more

> I've always wondered why this wasn't a two-way street. Wouldn't native people also have diseases to share? They did: syphilis! But the Europeans had far more diseases to share because there was far more animal domestication going on in the Old World. And most of our diseases came as a result of that animal domestication, so they had already spread through the population which developed immunity in the millennia between the first human infection and the Columbian Exchange. > Usually the smallpox theory is presented in a way that removes agency and culpability from the conquerers. It's always struck me at remarkably convenient and quite unbelievable; they were an idyllic people in some welder land without their own diseases, oh really now ... we're talking the Caribbeans here Typically I hear "the smallpox theory" presented as "Europeans killed 90% of Native Americans including by disease" as though Europeans collectively set out to exterminate Native Americans. To be certain, there was a lot of brutality and genocide and even some deliberate spread of disease, but no European could have credibly believed that the disease would spread throughout the new world to such effect.

alwillis 5y ago
but no European could have credibly believed that the disease would spread throughout the new world to such effect. Certainly not, but once they figured out what was going on, they certainly aided and abetted the spread of these new diseases.
- throwaway894345 5y ago
  They didn’t find out what was going on until the 20th century… Before that they thought it was God’s judgment on the heathens or something.
  - tomrod 5y ago
    They sent blankets used by infected people. They didn't understand germ theory, but they understood contagion.
    - 0xBDB 5y ago
      You should probably know that there is literally not one fully confirmed case of this ever happening. https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/3qslhq/where_smallpox_blankets_really_a_thing/ https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/3qslhq/where...
      - caethan 5y ago
        There's one, at Fort Pitt during the French and Indian war, as documented by multiple letters, as described in your link.
    - wwtrv 5y ago
      Didn’t the first documented cases of this occurs a hundred of more years after most of the natives had already died (18th vs the 16th century)? By the time Europeans started colonizing NA most of locals had already died to the diseases spreading from the south.
      - tomrod 5y ago
        In my reference, I acknowledge that how I used "they" was ambiguous. I meant people practicing war before germ theory. If we ignore this example, we still have dead and infected bodies/livestock being catapulted into cities.
    - throwaway894345 5y ago
      I acknowledged that much, but my point is they had no idea that these “new people” had no immunity and that the sickness would tear through the population so effectively. Moreover, “they” isn’t “all Europeans”—we need to be careful who we blame or else we verge on racism ourselves.
- pbhjpbhj 5y ago
  Which particular people? Was it like military people under orders from European leaders? Maybe someone could help me understand -- with such a prolific practice it must have been diaried and such? What are the best primary/secondary sources detailing the practice. I've heard the "they gave blankets but they knew the blankets had smallpox infection". But we presumably know who the they were. Presumably a lot of the colonists were sick as well. But not sick enough that the indigenous population noticed and stayed away. I guess people's capacity for evil is always greater than one can imagine.
  - caethan 5y ago
    There is exactly one documented case of deliberate attempts to spread smallpox among the Indians, from the British during the French & Indian war. https://www.history.com/news/colonists-native-americans-smallpox-blankets https://www.history.com/news/colonists-native-americans-smal...

alwillis 5y ago

but no European could have credibly believed that the disease would spread throughout the new world to such effect. Certainly not, but once they figured out what was going on, they certainly aided and abetted the spread of these new diseases.

throwaway894345 5y ago
They didn’t find out what was going on until the 20th century… Before that they thought it was God’s judgment on the heathens or something.
- tomrod 5y ago
  They sent blankets used by infected people. They didn't understand germ theory, but they understood contagion.
  - 0xBDB 5y ago
    You should probably know that there is literally not one fully confirmed case of this ever happening. https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/3qslhq/where_smallpox_blankets_really_a_thing/ https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/3qslhq/where...
    - caethan 5y ago
      There's one, at Fort Pitt during the French and Indian war, as documented by multiple letters, as described in your link.
  - wwtrv 5y ago
    Didn’t the first documented cases of this occurs a hundred of more years after most of the natives had already died (18th vs the 16th century)? By the time Europeans started colonizing NA most of locals had already died to the diseases spreading from the south.
    - tomrod 5y ago
      In my reference, I acknowledge that how I used "they" was ambiguous. I meant people practicing war before germ theory. If we ignore this example, we still have dead and infected bodies/livestock being catapulted into cities.
  - throwaway894345 5y ago
    I acknowledged that much, but my point is they had no idea that these “new people” had no immunity and that the sickness would tear through the population so effectively. Moreover, “they” isn’t “all Europeans”—we need to be careful who we blame or else we verge on racism ourselves.
pbhjpbhj 5y ago
Which particular people? Was it like military people under orders from European leaders? Maybe someone could help me understand -- with such a prolific practice it must have been diaried and such? What are the best primary/secondary sources detailing the practice. I've heard the "they gave blankets but they knew the blankets had smallpox infection". But we presumably know who the they were. Presumably a lot of the colonists were sick as well. But not sick enough that the indigenous population noticed and stayed away. I guess people's capacity for evil is always greater than one can imagine.
- caethan 5y ago
  There is exactly one documented case of deliberate attempts to spread smallpox among the Indians, from the British during the French & Indian war. https://www.history.com/news/colonists-native-americans-smallpox-blankets https://www.history.com/news/colonists-native-americans-smal...