- More than 10,000 years ago, Smallpox was originated.
- The suspected origin of the disease was spread by rodents and squirrels.
- The disease eventually comes to spread to a human, marking the beginnings of a disease that will come to dominate the world.
The life of smallpox
A disease that evolved over many generations: Where did it come from? What did it cause?
What did we do to help cure it? All of these questions will be explored in The Life Of Smallpox.
The origin
Image of the early smallpox spreaders: squirrels and rodents.
Quiz
When was Smallpox believed to be originated?
- Less than 10,000 years ago
- Over 10,000 years ago
- 100 years ago
- 600 A.D.
- As Smallpox started infected humans, it became a well known disease to many places in the ancient world.
- These places included Ancient Egypt, when Smallpox was traced from mummies who died from the disease.
- Smallpox was also found in Asia, specifically India and China before the birth of Christ.
smallpox spreads...
This map of The Colombian Exchange shows what the Eastern World brought to the Americas, including diseases, in which Smallpox is listed.
- In the 16th century, most of Europe was well known of Smallpox.
- The spreading of the disease to Europe is to have come from Africa and Asia, where boats have carried the disease from Egypt and Ethiopia to Greece, and from Carthage to Rome.
- And from these areas affected from other continents, the disease spreads to be known throughout Europe.
Did you know?
In the Middle East, Smallpox was believed to had spread and developed cases on humans from trading vehicles, or in this case, riding each others' camels!
- European ships carry Smallpox to the Americas as early as Christopher Columbus, and the Pilgrim Voyages in the 17th century.
- Slaves from Africa also spread the disease to the New World. (For example, in 1507, Hispaniola was affected by Smallpox, later spreading to Mexico and South America.)
- As the disease becomes a dominant threat to both Americas, it was a cause of many deaths of Native Americans.
Quiz
What people in the Americas were the most largely affected by Smallpox?
- The Europeans
- The Africans
- The Canadians
- The Native Americans
This image shows the African slave trade routes, in which slaves came from Africa to the Americas and Europe, especially the West Indies. Here, many slaves brought Smallpox with them, killing many Natives.
- As time passes, there are more and more victims of Smallpox.
- Some famous people who died of the disease are Queen Mary II (1650-1700), the heir of Louis XIV (1711), Louis XV (59 years of reign), and many others.
- Over a long period of time, Smallpox becomes known to all of mankind as deadly.
ready? set? treatment!
- As people began to know of the deadly Smallpox, people were becoming known of helping define it, through doctors, but also divinity.
- These people included Chinzei (1139-1170), Galen (2nd century), and St. Nicaise.
- These people were important models in the courage of trying to help cure Smallpox.
Galen, 2nd century Roman doctor, was an important person in the help of describing Smallpox.
Did you know?
St. Nicaise was the Bishop of Rheims, France, and the official patron saint of Smallpox curing!
- Variolation, a tactic of decreasing a Smallpox infection, starts.
- This idea is said to have given you immunity to Smallpox if completed.
- As there were many Smallpox cases, Variolation seemed to be known across the world in the 17th century, right before Vaccination is born.
Quiz
True or False: Variolation was proven never to give you immunity from Smallpox even if completed correctly.
- True
- False
- In 1796, the course of curing Smallpox was created; Vaccination.
- This made it easy for many people to get a direct treatment of the disease for at least a few years.
- As Vaccination became accessible, politics was interested by the concept of defeating Smallpox, and introduced an idea of eradicating the disease.