The biological mingling of the Old and New Worlds began with the first voyage of Columbus. The exchange was a mixed blessing: it led to the disappearance of entire peoples in the Americas, but it also resulted in the rapid expansion and consequent economic and military hegemony of Europeans. Amerindians had never before experienced the deadly Eurasian sicknesses brought by the foreigners in wave after wave: smallpox, measles, typhus, plague, influenza, malaria, yellow fever. These diseases literally conquered the Americas before the sword could be unsheathed. From 1492 to 1650, from Hudson's Bay in the north to southernmost Tierra del Fuego, disease weakened Amerindian resistance to outside domination. The Black Legend, which attempts to place all of the blame of the injustices of conquest on the Spanish, must be revised in light of the evidence that all Old World peoples carried, though largely unwittingly, the germs of the destruction of American civilization.

Cook explains that the conquest of the New World was achieved by a handful of Europeans - not by the sword, but by deadly disease.
Reviews
"The book challenges the Black Legend, which attempts to place all of the blame for the injustices of conquest on the Spanish, to demonstrate how all Old World peoples carried, literally though unwittingly, the germs of the destruction of American civilization." UC MEXUS NEWS
"...an important work that shows New World societies reeling from forces far beyond their control." Choice
"The book's strength lies in the extensive use of primary data from the various libraries. Those interested in medical history will find this monograph a pleasant and informative source of information. Overall, I found Born to Die a fascinating work that will appeal to anyone interested in the social, economic, and medical history of the New World immediately after its discovery and conquest." Robert C. Kimbrough III, MD; JAMA
"...[Cook] has produced a notable and well-written counterargument to some of the virulently anti-Spanish texts of the early 1990s." Foreign Affairs
"This is an important book which needs to be read by all who are interested in understanding the catastrophe that confronted the Amerindian peoples..." William T. Walker, Sixteenth Century Journal
"[Born to Die]...will become a standard reference in the literature of the European conquest of the Americas." J.H. Galloway, The International History Review
"Whether one is an expert or not in the role of diseases in the conquest of the New World, this book will prove an enlightening addition to your collection." Michael T. Campbell, Revista Interamericana



Book Information
ISBN 9780521627306
Author Noble David Cook
Format Paperback
Page Count 268
Imprint Cambridge University Press
Publisher Cambridge University Press
Weight(grams) 370g
Dimensions(mm) 215mm * 170mm * 17mm