Why didn't the natives make the missionaries sick?

[DavidFilmer]

We read that, when missionaries spread the Gospel to the New World, one unfortunate outcome was that they spread diseases unfamilar to the natives’ immune systems, sometimes wiping out every native in the area. I’m not talking about serious diseases like the flu that kill anybody - I’m talking about “minor” diseases (to the missionaries) which were devistating to the native people.

But wouldn’t that cut both ways? Why didn’t the natives make the missionaries sick with their own unique “minor” diseases? I don’t think I’ve ever heard of wholesale death among missionaries (or other settlers) like this.

 

[Catholic_Dude]

Mostly the only disease that get trumpeted is small pox, but Im interested in what the “minor” diseases were. The natives knew the local remedies and such so I would expect them to be more healthy than a traveling band of strangers who didnt know whats what and were prone to sickness being far from home.

If I had to take a wild guess I would think that more missionaries died from getting sick from eating the wrong foods versus having a disease from some native attack them.

 

[didymus]

DavidFilmer:

We read that, when missionaries spread the Gospel to the New World, one unfortunate outcome was that they spread diseases unfamilar to the natives’ immune systems, sometimes wiping out every native in the area. I’m not talking about serious diseases like the flu that kill anybody - I’m talking about “minor” diseases (to the missionaries) which were devistating to the native people.

But wouldn’t that cut both ways? Why didn’t the natives make the missionaries sick with their own unique “minor” diseases? I don’t think I’ve ever heard of wholesale death among missionaries (or other settlers) like this.

There’s a series running on PBS called Guns, Germs, and Steel which tries to explain how Europeans wound up running the world. You can check out the series website here.

The basic argument about germs is that for centuries Eurasians lived in close proximity with their livestock; horses, cattle, and especially swine and fowl, passing disesase back and forth to them – this was not true of native people in the Americas. This made Eurasians not only germ carriers but also, ironically gave them much stronger immune systems.
In the Ameicas, tribes were often settled in small areas having little contact even with other tribes, their immune systems were only rarely challenged by any new germs. Then along come these filthy Europeans and that’s it.

I read the book years ago and that’s how I remeber the argument – obviously I’m paraphrasing.

 

[Scott_Waddell]

didymus:

There’s a series running on PBS called Guns, Germs, and Steel which tries to explain how Europeans wound up running the world. You can check out the series website here.

The basic argument about germs is that for centuries Eurasians lived in close proximity with their livestock; horses, cattle, and especially swine and fowl, passing disesase back and forth to them – this was not true of native people in the Americas. This made Eurasians not only germ carriers but also, ironically gave them much stronger immune systems.
In the Ameicas, tribes were often settled in small areas having little contact even with other tribes, their immune systems were only rarely challenged by any new germs. Then along come these filthy Europeans and that’s it.

I read the book years ago and that’s how I remeber the argument – obviously I’m paraphrasing.

Interesting considering that perhaps things have changed in the sense that US citizens travelling to Mexico have to avoid the municipal water because apparently it has some kind of sewage in it that Mexicans are used to.

Scott

 

[didymus]

Scott Waddell:

Interesting considering that perhaps things have changed in the sense that US citizens travelling to Mexico have to avoid the municipal water because apparently it has some kind of sewage in it that Mexicans are used to.

Scott

From what I’ve heard Montezuma’s revenge, as nasty as it is, is not fatal. Most of the diseases Europeans encountered in the Americas were like that – they’d be laid low, wish they were dead perhaps, then recover and have an immunity to that disease from then on.

 

[Scott_Waddell]

didymus:

From what I’ve heard Montezuma’s revenge, as nasty as it is, is not fatal. Most of the diseases Europeans encountered in the Americas were like that – they’d be laid low, wish they were dead perhaps, then recover and have an immunity to that disease from then on.

Good point. I was just pointing out an example of how one disease can leave one people unfazed and affect another.

 

[Joe_Kelley]

There is some evidence that syphilis was brought back to Europe by Columbus’s crew.