After Contact Came Fever: Measles smallpox and collapsing populations

When unfamiliar infections entered communities with little prior exposure, the consequences could exceed the battlefield. Measles and smallpox moved through trade routes, military campaigns, missions, and migration, often striking amid political upheaval and food insecurity. This book examines epidemic mortality as a historical force while resisting simple claims that disease alone determined conquest. It follows transmission, caregiving, demographic disruption, and social recovery across selected encounters. Readers gain a clearer understanding of how pathogens interacted with violence, displacement, inequality, and colonial structures to reshape populations and power.