cronon5

Cronon 5

despite differences in property systems, Europeans and Indians traded eagerly

for Europeans, there was a demand for fur, for fur coats and hats

for Indians it was a new model--

they had some trade of fur for grain but was mostly on a gift giving model

some didn't understand the idea of trade (?)

look more carefully at Verazzano quote on page 83, bottom of page 7
they had a different idea of luxury
they were interested in things useful, wearable, easy to transport

but they quickly caught on

Furs were cheap from the Indians, if the Europeans could find something they wanted

metal tools and cooking pots
woven fabrics
goods were appreciated first for their exotic status, not their usefulness
wampum was already used as a ritual exchange good and became a form of money
became a much wider spread prestige good
the disruption of epidemics made room for the Indian's economic system to re-orient
hunting for prestige goods and the use of guns led to overhunting of beaver, turkey, passenger pigeons, and deer

they have an outside demand for furs.. and don't have any concept of having to protect animal populations
it was dangerous not to cooperate with the Europeans by trade
some indians blamed the animals for the diseases
use of European technology
they didn't have the experience with thinking long term

Impact of illness:

Even minor diseases such as chicken pox could cause high death rates to people with no exposure

Smallpox was endemic in Europe
we know more about it just because it is easy to identify

endemic=widespread and constantly present
spreads from person to person but can be spread by dry material for many months
in Europe people usually got smallpox before they were 2, 10-15% died
in somewhat more isolated areas outbreaks happened about every 5 years (in later colonial America the density wasn't high enough for smallpox to be endemic and there were dangerous epidemics among the colonists)
the Americas were isolated places where the disease was not already present
because of lack of immunity among the native people it became an epidemic
among natives not previously exposed, 1/3 to 1/2 died
The death rate in many Indian communities was even higher than that because of starvation or unhelpful disease treatment traditions, such as sweat baths
people living in isolated areas with few diseases may have evolved weaker or less diverse immune systems

"The role of disease in American conquest was threefold: firstly, it reduced the fighting capability of the Aztec and Incan armies as they became sick and died. Secondly, the deaths of their heads of political leadership left power vacuums, and much of the attention of vassal leaders was occupied with civil wars. The conquistadors played factions against each other. Thirdly, the prevailing beliefs of these cultures led them to believe that the European forces were employing supernatural powers, and many military leaders decided to either join the conquistadors, or flee, rather than fight them. Consequently, resistance was weak, disorganized, and usually nonexistent." (Graeme Kennedy)

What we think of as the indian civilization in North America is actually what was left after diseases had done much harm

the exchange was one-sided

the Europeans brought lots of dangerous diseases
they didn't catch local diseases
why weren't there local diseases? because there were very few domestic animals and less crowding

at most only one disease imported from the Americas caused significant problems in Europe

even the theory that syphilis came from the Americas is now debated:
people in Europe at the time believed that syphilis came from the Americas
there is good evidence of syphilis in Europe before Columbus
the trick is that the disease has changed over time, sometimes becoming more serious, sometimes less
a disease can mutate into something more dangerous

Europeans had had to learn to live with the diseases they brought with them
the Americas had fewer diseases because of less crowded conditions, fewer domestic animals, and isolation

Europe was more crowded and so epidemic diseases became endemic
any area where people aren't crowded enough for diseases to become endemic will have problems with epidemics
Europeans had more diseases because they had more domestic animals
and they often shared the same building with their animals
diseases that evolved in different places came together in Europe
isolated places didn't see as many diseases
Europeans had come to an ecological balance with their diseases