The video discusses the impact of European diseases on the indigenous population of the New World, which dropped by at least 90% between the first Europeans arriving in 1492 and the Victorian age. The cause of this massive population drop was not the conquistadors, but the diseases they brought with them, including smallpox, typhus, tuberculosis, influenza, bubonic plague, cholera, mumps, measles, and more. These diseases spread rapidly through the indigenous population, which had no defenses against them, resulting in tens of millions of deaths.
The video also explores why the indigenous population did not suffer from a similar fate in Europe. It suggests that the answer lies in the distinction between regular diseases and plagues. Regular diseases, like the common cold, spread slowly and can be managed, while plagues spread quickly and either kill you quickly or make you immune. The video argues that the New World did not have plagues for the Europeans to catch because it lacked the necessary conditions for plagues to thrive, such as large, dense, and deeply interconnected cities.
The video further explains that plagues come from animals, and that the Old World had more animals suitable for domestication, which increased the chances of diseases jumping species. The New World, on the other hand, had fewer animals suitable for domestication, which limited the chances of diseases jumping species. This lack of domesticated animals limited not only exposure to germs but also food production, population growth, and the development of cities, making plagues in the New World almost impossible.
The video concludes by suggesting that if the domesticable animals from the Old World had been moved to the New World, history's arrow of disease and death would have flowed in the opposite direction. It leaves one last question: why are some animals domesticable and others not?
1. The indigenous population of the New World dropped by at least 90% between the arrival of the first Europeans in 1492 and the Victorian age.
2. The primary cause of this population drop was not the conquistadors, but the introduction of diseases such as smallpox, typhus, tuberculosis, influenza, bubonic plague, cholera, mumps, and measles.
3. These diseases spread quickly from the first explorers to the coastal tribes and then throughout the hemisphere, causing tens of millions of deaths.
4. The Europeans did not get sick because they had regular diseases but there was no Americapox to carry.
5. The New World did not have plagues because it did not have big, dense, terribly sanitized, deeply interconnected cities for plagues to thrive.
6. The Old World had the necessary pieces in abundance for plagues to thrive, including domesticated animals like cows, pigs, and sheep.
7. The New World lacked good animal candidates for domestication, limiting food production, population growth, and the development of cities.
8. This limited exposure to germs and the ability to create a complex society, making plagues in the New World almost impossible.
9. In contrast, the Old World had access to domesticated animals in numbers and diversity, which was a key resource for bootstrapping a complex society from nothing.
10. This complexity brought with it, unintentionally, a passive biological weaponry devastating to outsiders.
11. The lack of domesticable animals in the New World limited the development of cities and the spread of plagues.
12. The game of civilization has nothing to do with the players, and everything to do with the map. Access to domesticated animals in numbers and diversity is the key resource to bootstrapping a complex society from nothing.
13. The lack of domesticable animals in the New World limited the development of cities and the spread of plagues.
14. The game of civilization has nothing to do with the players, and everything to do with the map. Access to domesticated animals in numbers and diversity is the key resource to bootstrapping a complex society from nothing.