Plagues and people
Oct 06, 2021
3 minutes
By definition, a plague is:
• a contagious bacterial disease characterised by fever and delirium; or
• an unusually large number of insects or animals infesting a place and causing damage.
Plagues and People, a 1976 book by William McNeill, is a great read for anyone interested in the extraordinary political, demographic, ecological and psychological impacts of disease on human cultures.
For instance, the conquest of Mexico was as much impacted by the rapid spread of smallpox as
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