HIST 1707 Lecture Notes - Lecture 6: Smallpox, Olive Oil, Syphilis
3 Dec 2017
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Document Summary
First great moment of cultural transition in europe is at the time of the crusades. Many national dishes in europe include ingredients that are not indigenous to the country. Without potatoes, irish population dropped from 8. 5 million to 4. 5 million where it sits today. No european staples such as grapes, wheat, olives etc. in the americas so there is no wine, bread, or olive oil etc. Staples in the americans were corn, white potatoes, tomatoes, tobacco, and chocolate. Small pox was also not present in the new world. 80% of the people who died were the age of around 10. Civilizations become immune to small pox making it a children s disease, as you can only get it once. Bringing it to the new world means the entire population is not immune to the disease and anyone exposed to it can catch it and succumb to it. In virgin soil, death rate is at least 30%.
