Smallpox and the Colombian Exchange
The Effect Smallpox Had On the New World
Information about Smallpox
Smallpox is a highly contagious and sometimes life-threatening disease that was seen as a series of marked blisters around the body. The Colombian Exchange brought a series of things to America such as: tobacco, sweet potatoes, turkey, and many other crops. But disease was the most harmful thing the Europeans brought to the New World. The most deadliest disease they brought to America was smallpox. Smallpox was first brought to America by the Europeans (Old World)
Smallpox Blisters
This is a picture of the progression of smallpox. As one can see, when someone has smallpox, there are just a small amount of blisters. Then just those small amount of blisters slowly progress into many other blisters
Symptoms of Smallpox
The symptoms of smallpox included: fever, headache, vomiting, abdominal cramps, aches (body, head, back)
The Effect Smallpox had on the Native People
Smallpox had a great effect on the Native Americans. The Native Americans were not immune to this disease because before the Colombian Exchange they had no contact with the Old World. Native American populations that were greatly affected by smallpox lost all of their population, while other Native American populations usually lost 90% of its population
Smallpox Killing a Population
More Information
Europeans were immune to smallpox, because most Europeans had smallpox when they were younger. Although Europeans were immune to smallpox, the indigenous people of the New World were not. William Bradford wrote about the effects of smallpox and even declared that victims of smallpox lost strength and died quickly that they could not bury their own or even get water. Due to the Colombian Exchange bringing smallpox to the New World it caused the population of the New World to deplete greatly.