How Did Small Pox Affect Europe

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Smallpox was the main contributor to many Euro deaths. Approximately 400,000 people die every year, with around 13 of people going permanently blind. This disease was rapidly spreading, meaning that you could get sick from it without even coming into contact with someone contaminated. This disease devastated all of Europe. This had a significant impact on the European economy and hierarchy. Smallpox resulted in the deaths of important kings and generals, causing the power structure of Europe to fall into disarray as well as the working structure. Another disease other than small pox is that “Because they did not understand the biology of the disease, many people believed that the Black Death was a kind of divine punishment—retribution for sins against God such as greed, …show more content…
Europeans were unable to find sufficient amounts of labor in the Americas as these societies collapsed as a result of conquest and disease." The constant rath of diseases, but mainly smallpox, only got worse when the Europeans started practicing enslavement and transporting natives on ships back to Europe. These ships were a breeding ground for diseases because of their terrible and inhumane conditions. With some ships holding up to 1000+ people who were all expected to share the same bathroom and sleeping corridors, leaving no room for sick people to heal without infecting others. Not to mention that they did not get any medical treatment, leading to an alarming amount of deaths. Smallpox spread quickly throughout Native American societies. This was helped by a dense population of people, extensive trade routes, and a lack of local knowledge of the disease. It has been shown, especially with the modern-day disease known as COVID-19, that people are not so quick to believe when there is a threat they can't