History Essay: James Riley Article

James Riley Article
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Subject Matter
James Riley’s article discusses the impact of small pox on indigenous Americans. As Riley explains, small pox was one of the most lethal viruses brought by the Europeans from Europe. Since indigenous people did not have previous exposure to small pox, the importation of the virus often had catastrophic effects. In just a short time, the entire community could have been infected. This would have caused a debilitating impact because people lacked effective means to fight the disease. For American Indians, small pox was a catastrophic cause of deaths that led to severe depopulation. However, Europeans found it manageable to maintain the population growth. This manageability among Europeans puzzled scholars who wondered how it was only a deadly disease to the New World. Therefore, the subject matter of this article is to find out the reasons behind the deaths of many people in the New Word as a result of small pox. That is to say, the article aims to identify why small pox was deadlier in America than in Europe.
The Author’s Major Conclusions
Riley concludes that by the sixteenth century, Variola minor circulated in Europe and was carried to the New World. Nevertheless, the New World encountered catastrophic epidemics such as outbreaks of the disease that lead to the deaths of many American Indians. Most importantly, the author stated that factors such as social disruptions and ordinary behavior patterns in societies where individuals ate, slept or performed other tasks while in close contact, and where individuals freely visited the sick aggravate the catastrophic consequences of small pox among the indigenous Americans. However, malnutrition and genetic heterogeneity are mere speculations because no solid evidence has linked them to small pox.[Riley, J. C. (2010). Smallpox and American Indians revisited. Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied sciences, 65 (4), 445-477.] [Riley, J. C. (2010). Smallpox and American Indians revisited. Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied sciences, 65 (4), 445-477.]
Riley’s Argument
One argument Riley makes is that some of the factors believed to increase small pox deaths among American Indians seem not, based on the reviewed article. According to Riley, some researchers have suggested that the spread was common in America than Europe due to malnutrition issues, social disruption, genetic homogeneity, genetic impairment, and host behavi...