Chapter 358 (2/2)
We should know that the number of people killed in World War II only accounted for about 5% of the European population, and a black death made Europe lose half of its population. It took Europe a full 150 years to recover, which shows the ”power” of the black death.
In addition to the flu and the black death, smallpox also makes people talk about it.
No one can tell where smallpox, a malignant infectious disease, came from. Some people say that this terrible infectious disease existed in Egypt as early as 3000 years ago, because the scar left by smallpox was seen on the mummies of Egyptian pharaohs unearthed later.
It is also said that this disease arose from India. Whether it was the smallpox virus of ancient China or Europe, it was spread from India
But no matter how smallpox appears, there is no denying that this infectious disease is definitely a terrible infectious disease comparable to the black death.
The number of deaths from smallpox in other parts of the world can't be counted, but only in Europe, as of the 18th century, as many as 150 million Europeans died of this terrible epidemic.
When smallpox, a malignant infectious disease, began to break out in medieval Europe, it left an indelible ”mark” for Europe!
At that time, in Europe, there was an average of one ”pockmarked face” among every five people, that is, the mark left by smallpox. Even the supreme kings were doomed. King Louis XV of France, Queen Mary II of England, King Joseph I of Germany and Tsar Peter II of Russia were killed by smallpox.
What is more terrifying is that when the Spanish conquered the Indians in central and South America, they used smallpox instead of guns and muskets.
It is said that when the Spaniards first landed in South and Central America, the force of the Spaniards was far less than that of the local Indians, and even the Spaniards were once beaten by the Indians.
At that time, there were only a few hundred Spaniards, while nearly 30 million native Indians lived in central and South America.
In this case, those damned Spanish invaders began to think of tricks. They gave the Indians the blankets used by smallpox patients, and smallpox broke out on the road. Then came mumps, measles, cholera, gonorrhea, yellow fever and other diseases from Europe. Finally, many infectious diseases, led by smallpox, reduced the number of Indians in central and South America to less than one million in a short period of one hundred years
It's no exaggeration to say that the reason why the Spaniards can finally unify central and South America is the invisible but powerful smallpox virus!
Therefore, smallpox is an extremely terrible malignant infectious disease.
Stone bear knows this from beginning to end. Although he also knew that there was an outbreak of smallpox in Europe in the 18th century, he also knew that in the process of this epidemic, a large number of Europeans died of this disease. Even the present King Louis XV of France would be infected with smallpox in eight years and eventually died!
But he really didn't expect that the news about smallpox appeared so early