Life In Papua New Guinea

In the article “1491” by Charles Mann , Mann also talks about the most devastating impact from the contact between Europeans and Americans came from the spread of biological agents like smallpox, smallpox had the most effect on the Americas’ native populations there population could of been destroyed stated in the article that “Dobyns estimated that in the first 130 years of contact about 95 percent of the people in the Americas died—the worst demographic calamity in recorded history.” This shows just how serious smallpox was on people considering that they had no immunity to these diseases and because of this it was able to cause a major loss of population and of the people who lived they were still heavily affected by it. Mann also states “It is well known that Native Americans had no experience with many European diseases and were therefore immunologically unprepared—"virgin soil," in

This article focused on depopulation via smallpox. “Within just a few generations, the continents of the Americas were virtually emptied of their native inhabitants – some academics estimate that approximately 20 million people may have died in the years following the European invasion – up to 95% of the population of the Americas.” The article goes on to describe the transmission process of smallpox, incubation period, and symptoms of the disease. It then discusses the fact that diseases such as smallpox, influenza and measles were a product of the European society, specifically livestock farming and close interaction with domesticated livestock. Though smallpox outbreaks would occur in Europe, killing major portions of the population, some would survive and build immunities which they genetically passed to the next generations. Because the Native Americans had no exposure to smallpox and no genetic immunities, exposure to this virus was deadly all across the continent. “More victims of colonization were killed by Eurasian germs, than by either the gun or the sword, making germs the deadliest agent of conquest.”

Throughout Guns, Germs, and Steel, Jared Diamond explains the importance of geography in the ways ancient civilizations grew and spread and how some areas were more advanced than others. He began his research when he was asked a question by a Papua New Guinea residence, Yali. Yali had asked Diamond “[w]hy you white man have so much cargo and we New Guineans have so little?” At that point Diamond had no answer and he was curious to find out why Eurasia had a head start in civilizing people meanwhile the other continents were behind. As a result, several differences were made between countries that did not have the same resources as those who were advanced. Some of the developing countries were poor and they had to rely on whatever was given to them through nature. When Diamond went to Papua New Guinea, he discovered that the residences of the island had the same routine as those in the ancient civilizations of Eurasia. They would often hunt for animals and used stone weapons instead of metal.

Smallpox was the number one eradicator facing those who didn’t possess immunity to the rank disease. Over 90% of native peoples died from this illness. Spain constructed a system known as encomienda. Under this arrangement Indians could be traded to slave owners in exchange for the devotion of their Christian loyalty. The relationship between Indians and Spanish voyagers was not all horrific. They did

The diseases the Europeans brought with them affected the indigenous negatively because it killed a large portion of the population in a painful way. The Natives had very little diseases before the Europeans invaded their land. Unlike people in the Old World, the Natives did not farm cattle or pigs and did not live near the animals they did have. They never had the opportunity to develop immunities to diseases that the cattle and Europeans carried when they came upon their shores. The diseases spread quickly and attacked the indigenous in gruesome ways. Smallpox caused sores to erupt on their skins that were so painful that an Aztec account states that “[the sick] could only lie on their beds like corpses” (Document 4). The pain would not

The first major disease to find the New World was probably smallpox which broke out on Hispanola in 1518. As the Spaniards moved toward the mainland from the islands their diseases often proceeded them. One reason for this was a messenger bearing the news of the invasion to his people could carry the diseases as well as his message. With the arrival of Cortes in 1520 the smallpox virus was brought to Mexico and the Aztec nation. It has been thought that if the virus had not come when it did the Spanish invasion would not have been successful (Lunenfeld, 314). The Aztec leader of the assault against the Spanish invasion, as well as many of his followers, died after ordering the Spaniards out of Tenochtitlan. If the people would have continued with what they had started, they would not have been conquered for before August 21, 1521, the Spaniards were almost defeated. However in a siege that lasted seventy-five days the dead Aztecs from combat, starvation, and disease numbered into the 1000's (Crosby, 1972). The massive numbers of dead stunned the people so much that they were unable to react. The natives were not the only ones affected by the dead, however, for the

Until Spanish interactions however, Smallpox had never been introduced in Mexico. The Smallpox epidemic was contracted by Mexica and Spaniard allies alike. As told by the people of Tlatelolco “[The disease] brought great desolation; a great many died of it. They could no longer walk about, but lay in their dwellings and sleeping places” (Sahagun 2000, 190). The Spaniards began to use Smallpox to their advantage greatly weakening the Mexica forces. Smallpox’s exact death toll is uncertain but there are rough estimations that “range from a low of 10 million to a high of 100 million” (Hansen, Curtis 2013, 343). The use of biochemical agents in battle goes to prove the Spaniards military cunning over the

Smallpox--the disease that so ravaged Tenochtitlan on the eve of Cortes's final siege--was a particularly efficient killer. Alfred Crosby, author off 'The Columbian Exchange," likens its effect on American history to "that of the Black Death on the history of the Old World." Smallpox made its American debut in 1519, when it struck the Caribbean island of Santo Domingo, killing up to half of the indigenous population. From there outbreaks spread across the Antilles islands, onto the Mexican mainland, through the Isthmus of Panama and into South America. The Spaniards were moving in the same direction, but their diseasesoften outpaced them. "Such is the communicability of smallpox and the other eruptive fevers," Crosby notes, "that any Indian who received news of the Spaniards could also have easily received the

I found another interesting fact about the smallpox, it can live on cloth for years, therefore it first hit the American Indians prior to ever meeting the European people (Ojibwa, 2009). Consequently, as the American Indians could not cure these diseases with healing part of their religious ceremonies, they began to lose faith. After I read your post, I was interested in finding out if any Europeans educated the American Indians regarding these diseases, such as smallpox, and provided any help with containing the disease. I have found that they did begin a vaccination program for smallpox, for the American Indians around 1800. But, they took care of their own first, the Europeans began vaccination programs for themselves around 1721 (Ojibwa,

Why are certain countries LDCs? What made MDCs- specifically those in Europe- quickly develop into the advanced countries they are today? Why does Papua New Guinea, a state that has had inhabitants for more than 40,000 years, not have the same technologies as New York City, a city that has existed for about 400? In a span of nearly 30 years, Professor Jared Diamond has both solved and answered these questions by juxtaposing diverse states such as Papua New Guinea, Malaysia, Zambia, and Singapore with one simple word: Geography. Geography includes factors that shaped the evolution of life, like the distribution of plants and animals, the spread of Eurasian technology, the shape of continents, and the type of farming done in a certain location. While some people believe that Professor

Smallpox is indeed a very infectious disease that had taken many lives in the past. I really enjoyed reading your board because you had made a very positive connection between cultural practices and human infectious diseases, Edward Jenner discovering a vaccine that had saved many lifes. Vaccines are a very important and without them, the human population numbers would

When a civilization has all the factors it needs, they are able to create steel. Steel is a strong mineral that was used for weapons, tools, and even to help make food. Steel helped civilizations like the Spanish take over land and decimate other civilizations. Civilizations like the Spanish developed steel because they had specialists. A specialist is a highly trained person that particularly excels in a certain thing he or she does. The specialists developed steel by burning limestone in a hot fire. The fire would have to burn for several days in a row until the limestone turned to plaster. Then the specialists would let the plaster dry into stone. The Spanish used the creation of steel to takeover other countries by killing them with steel

Smallpox is a very contagious infectious disease that impacted the lives of people for thousands of years. After decades of eradication

Approximately 100 miles (160km) north of Australia, situates the second largest island in the south pacific called Papua New Guinea; occupying the eastern half of the rugged tropical island of New Guinea and some 700 offshore islands. With its comparative area size slightly larger than California, Papua New Guinea is about 287,595 miles in total area, of which 281,394 miles is land and 6,201 miles is water and accumulative of 3,201 miles of coastline. The central part of the island is composed of the Highlands, a chain of mountains and river valleys which run the whole length of the island and majority of its land covered in condense tropical rainforest. The name Papuan New Guinea derives from the Malay word papuwah meaning “fuzzy hair” and New Guinea from the origin of the land settlement. Papua New Guinea’s diversity relies greatly upon its geographical location, historical of settlers, resent society practices and the numerous adopted lifestyles.

How is it that people in Papua New Guinea are still using stone tools and in other countries are using such advanced technology? The Europeans had the right climate for farming, access to domesticated animals, an immunity to germs and steel. This allowed them to dominate countries that didn’t have these advantages.