Native American diseases

Now, Smallpox is mentioned a lot as weakening the Native Americans, so the European settlers...settled more easily. Well, what if there was some awful plague that the Native Americans had become immune to had developed, and was effective as smallpox on natives was. Is colonisation set back? How far? Does it even happen at all?
 

HueyLong

Banned
Now, Smallpox is mentioned a lot as weakening the Native Americans, so the European settlers...settled more easily. Well, what if there was some awful plague that the Native Americans had become immune to had developed, and was effective as smallpox on natives was. Is colonisation set back? How far? Does it even happen at all?

It requires huge changes in the nature of Native American society.

It requires, first off, a large domesticated animal population, secondly, large population centres and thirdly, a pan-continental trade route.
 
Well, there is some evidence that Syphilis was a native American disease, although that is now highly contested.

It requires, first off, a large domesticated animal population, secondly, large population centres and thirdly, a pan-continental trade route.

I would say that the last two happened in our world, although perhaps not on a stable basis. Tenochtitlan had 200,000 people on about 13.5 square km. There were also various other cities that had large population in the Valley of Mexico. Trade routes seem to have been quite large, most notably along the Mississippi and other large rivers, and the gulf coast. Also in the Andes trade was well developed along the major road systems.

I personally feel that the Andes are the likeliest place to find a disease due to the large number of llamas and guinea pigs, large empires (even in pre-Incan times Peru was often dominated by one state), and good roads. The Incas also engaged in large scale population movements so that would help any disease move from place to place.



It would be important to note how the disease spread. An airborne disease would be most deadly and hampering to Europeans, while a waterborne disease or animal born disease would also severely effect them. I think an STD or food disease would not stop Europeans as much, but I'm no epidemiologist,
 

HueyLong

Banned
While there was trade, it was not a direct trading system, and was fairly irregular. Nothing comparable to trade caravans and annual trips. Very little movement of people.
 

bard32

Banned
Now, Smallpox is mentioned a lot as weakening the Native Americans, so the European settlers...settled more easily. Well, what if there was some awful plague that the Native Americans had become immune to had developed, and was effective as smallpox on natives was. Is colonisation set back? How far? Does it even happen at all?

Like what, for example?
 
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