HIST 1011 Lecture 4: 6FEB
Document Summary
Except for n and s america, difficult to explain. Nutrition and hygiene aren"t convincing bc sanitation in cities isn"t good; nutrition gains are offset by losses. Medical science still largely ignorant; dealt w scurvy and smallpox, though--led to stocking ships w limes and lemons. Ecological explanations--mixing of populations spread natural immunities; pathogens may have also changed to survive better. Vaccination too, copied from the ottoman empire. In 1800, 10% of chinese grain was sold on the market instead of eaten by consumers--means you have moved away from a subsistence economy. All of the sink, tea, and salt sold on the market. China didn"t care--didn"t depend on the system, but the rest of the world. China--economic trends wanted what china had europeans benefited. Until the 18c, still cash transactions only--no trade imbalance where. But, then, chinese began to discover the opium market; chinese users demanded the product, but it couldn"t be produced in china bc british had the monopoly.