Today in History: 14 diseases Christopher Columbus brought with him when he landed in Jamaica 526 years ago
Christopher Columbus landed on the island of Jamaica on this day in 1492, bringing with him a host of diseases from Europe.
European explorer Christopher Columbus, who sailed west to get to the East Indies and came upon the region now called the West Indies, landed in Jamaica during his second voyage on this day 526 years ago.
Columbus heard about Jamaica, then called Xaymaca, from the Cubans who described it as ‘the land of blessed gold’.
On arrival at St Ann’s Bay, Columbus found the island’s native inhabitants, the Arawak Indians.
Initially, Columbus thought these Indians were hostile, as they attacked his men when they tried to land on the island.
Seeing that he was determined to annex the island in the name of the king and queen of Spain, he was not deterred.
Columbus also needed wood and water, and a chance to repair his vessels.
He sailed down the coast and docked at Discovery Bay where the Arawaks were also hostile to the Spaniards.
Their attitudes changed however, when they were attacked by a dog from one of the Spanish ships and Columbus’ cross-bow men.
Some of the Arawaks were killed and wounded in this attack, leading to Columbus being able to land and claim the island.
The Arawaks became so overworked and ill-treated that within a short time they had all died.
This process was aided by the introduction of European diseases – ranging from syphilis to smallpox – to which the Arawaks had little or no resistance. Their immune systems were not equipped to handle this.
Along with their own set of diseases at the time, Columbus’ arrival created a devastating concoction of maladies.
The Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation (OMRF) reports that their impact was more catastrophic than the Black Death in medieval Europe, which is estimated to have killed 25 million people in just five years, between 1347 and 1352.
Of the estimated 250 000 natives in Hispaniola, Columbus’ first stop in the Americas in 1492, new infectious diseases wiped out a staggering 236 000 indigenous people by 1517 – nearly 95 per cent of their population.
The list of diseases might be extensive yet possibly incomplete, but below are 14 of the worst diseases he brought on the Arawaks (besides future colonialism):
1. Smallpox
2. Measles
3. Influenza
4. Bubonic plague
5. Typhus
6. Cholera
7. Scarlet fever
8. Chickenpox
9. Yellow fever
10. Malaria
11. Lyme disease
12. Anthrax
13. Syphilis
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