Smallpox
(or, how non-human factors can change history)
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Table of Contents
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"...the story of smallpox reveals the power of disease to shape world history, to shape economies, to shape politics, and it offers lessons for the modern world in the face of the myriad epidemic diseases that we are facing today..."
Key Terms
- Smallpox
- Variola Virus
- Inoculation (Variolation, Vaccination)
- Edward Jenner
Guided Viewing Questions
- In what ways did the farming contribute to the origins of epidemic diseases?
- Why was the impact of smallpox so much more devastating in the New World (Americas) than in the Old World (Europe, Asia, Africa)?
- Why does Jared Diamond argue that disease was – if not THE decisive factor--at the very least a crucial determinant in Europeans’ dominance in the modern era?
- Why was the development of the smallpox vaccine in 1796 so important in world history?