Christopher Columbus' Real Discovery: Syphilis

[The Straight Story]

Christopher Columbus' Real Discovery: Syphilis

Diseases carried to North America by Spanish explorers killed millions of the continent's original inhabitants, but the trip cut both ways: scientists say Christopher Columbus took syphilis back to Europe.

In a study published in the January 14 issue of the journal Public Library of Science Neglected Tropical Diseases, Emory University geneticists studied 26 strains of treponema, the bacterial genus to which the infamous venereal disease belongs. After comparing their differences and evolutionary history, they decided that modern syphilis-causing strains most closely resembled those found in South America.

The findings give ammunition to adherents of the so-called Columbian theory of syphilis, which holds that the disease arrived in Europe with Columbus. Their opponents point to earlier European evidence, especially syphilitic lesions in skeletons from a 14th century English monastery, as absolving the notorious explorer of this particular scourge.

This probably won't settle the debate, but both sides do agree on one basic fact: a pandemic of syphilis hit Europe shortly after Columbus' return, and it changed the course of history. Originally a highly lethal, hideously disfiguring disease, it soon morphed into a more subtly destructive form -- one that still killed and caused dementia, but was largely unbetrayed by obvious symptoms.

http://blog.wired.com/wiredscience/2008/01/the-real-discov.html

[MadMaddie]

1. Oops...I guess the colonization of the world wasn't as glamorous

as the History books tell it.

[TahitiNut]

2. Sex tourism.

Over five centuries of it. Now ... what was Marco Polo doing? :silly:

[The Straight Story]

3. I am sure there is a link to obama or hillary....

:)

[Deja Q]

4. Wow. He really got around... at least we now know the etymology for the song

"The Royal March"

Long Live Spain, raise your arms, sons
of the Spanish people,
who are rising again.

Glory to the Fatherland that knew how to follow,
over the blue of the sea the path of the sun.

Glory to the Fatherland that knew how to follow,
over the blue of the sea the path of the sun.

Spain triumphs! The anvils and wheels
sing to the rhythm
of the hymn of the faith.

Spain triumphs! The anvils and wheels
sing to the rhythm
of the hymn of the faith.

Together with them let's stand and sing
the new powerful life of labour and peace.

Together with them let's stand and sing
the new powerful life of labour and peace.

Long Live Spain, raise your arms, sons
of the Spanish people,
who are arising again.

Long Live Spain, raise your arms, sons
of the Spanish people,
who are arising again.

Glory to the Fatherland that knew how to follow,
over the blue of the sea the path of the sun.

Glory to the Motherland that knew how to follow,
over the blue of the sea the path of the sun.

[enid602]

5. pre-Columbus

I saw a program not too long ago on PBS where they tested for (and found positive traces of) THC and cocaine on the mummies of prominent ancient Egyptians. Just goes to show there was some sort of contact pre-Colombus. The Olmec empire in Mexico, Micronesia and the Easter Islands all show very strong African influences, all pre-Columbus.

[Igel]

7. You mean nicotine, not THC.

Cannibis is native to Central Asia; having it show up in Egypt isn't much of a mystery (even though it does show up), and it's not support for cross-Atlantic ties.

[sam sarrha]

6. i just read this book... >Link>> it is a very interesting study on Syphilis

http://www.amazon.com/Pox-Genius-Madness-Mysteries-Syphilis/dp/0465028829/ref=pd_bbs_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1200365532&sr=8-1

i just ordered one for $3, I'm giving my hard bound to the library

it is really a great detective study to, because the subject was Taboo

Lincoln got syphilis from his first law partner in a homosexual relationship, his chronic depression was caused by his infecting his wife, who later went mad with syphilitic dementia

the reason Beethoven went deaf was syphilis, he was able to compose such mystical music deaf because he was actually writing down auditory hallucinations caused by syphilis of the brain

there are so many stories... hitler, philosophers, at times up to 50% of men had syphilis in victorian england...

the suffering from syphilis was unbelievable
you have to read this book

[Igel]

8. Syphilis in England in the 1300s?

Anywhere near where Danes were?

Might be worth checking to see if there are two different strains of syphilis, a minor one brought back by Vikings from Nova Scotia and the other brought back by Columbus' rowdy band.