Summary Of Plague And Peoples By William Mcneill

William McNeill, Plagues and Peoples William McNeill was a prominent historian whose works left an undeniable mark in history. He was determined to examine a various number of diseases, and how they had affected the world’s population over the years in this book of knowledge. McNeill believed that the spread of infectious disease became a main shaper of history that preyed upon places such as China with the bubonic plague, to Mexico and the effects of smallpox. The author points out how several important political figures were aided in their quest for victory by the presences of diseases. McNeill composed six chapters to examine and explain how earlier generations were affected by the diseases long before the Neolithic Revolution.(33) He
begins his writings by discussing the connection between early men and finishes with the 1957 outbreak of the Hong Kong flu. He geographically covers the most important areas in the world that were visited by powerful epidemics such as: typhus, yellow fever, tuberculosis, cholera, malaria, leprosy, and syphilis. There were changes in agriculture that bought a landslide of plagues to large communities and sedentary lifestyle. McNeill gives readers a view into the demographic relationship among countryside and town civilians in a pre-industrial culture.
As a historian, the author attempts to develop and defend the theory that infectious diseases have always caused a cultural, economic, and political imbalance in history. Large and overly populated communities have been greatly reduced by the spread of epidemics. McNeill believed the structural organization of adjoining communities were destroyed by the combination of disease and war. He also claimed that the more successful governments where taxes and rents were paid provided immunizations for their people. The most interesting point made by the author focuses on humans not only being the host for diseases, but also parasites themselves. In McNeill’s observation, man has not been very successful or stable in handling the issues caused by macro and micro parasitism.
Although McNeill’s Plagues and People is an interesting read, it has been compared to Epidemic and Peace, 1918, which was written by Alfred Crosby. There was one major difference between McNeill’s book and Crosby’s Epidemic and Peace. Crosby’s book focused on one disease, the Spanish influenza. Crosby gives special attention to the pandemic in San Francisco and Philadelphia, and the effect it had on the military on the way the France. Unlike McNeill, Crosby’s book was more fixated on confusions, conclusions, and research. Crosby seems less likely than McNeill to compare societies and organisms. He opted to write a less theoretical book and more straight-forward book than McNeill. Crosby’s book took the speculations of others, and inspired him to ask more compelling questions of his own.
McNeill points out that during the downfall of cities such as Athens and Rome, there were outbreaks and epidemics to finish them off.
The author gives details on the spread of the Black Death, also called the Bubonic Plague that caused much devastation in Europe during the 14th century. The disease would Europe take by storm during the years of 1345 to 1361, and at different periods over the next 400 years. McNeill contends that the Mongols facilitated the spread of the Black Death, which brought devastating changes to Europe and Asia (pp.150). Several other countries such as Russia, Africa, China, and the Scandinavian countries were also affected by this plague. McNeill made mention of several other occasions where diseases seem to play an important role in the outcome. He writes about the spreading of disease causing a disbandment of the imperial Rome and Han China empires, but reinforcing Christianity and Buddhist religions.
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McNeill’s ideas were not always right concerning the spread of diseases during battles, and the defeat as a result. The author believed that Aztec Indians were defeated by infectious diseases and not by Cortez. Due to the spread of smallpox within the Aztec communities, Cortez was able to get the upper hand and defeat the Indians. This theory is not true according to Bernal Diaz del Castillo, who wrote Discovery and Conquest of Mexico, (1928). (pp. 1517-1521) It is noted in history that the Aztecs did purse the Spaniards for five miles, but retreated due to such a fierce battle. The Aztecs did not have available transportation or animals, and eventually there would be no food or supplies to keep going. These reasons, along with smallpox would bring the downfall of the Aztecs. Plagues and Peoples, like many of the books that McNeill wrote were historically based.
Due to the topics that McNeill wrote about in The Rise of the West: a History of the Human Community (1963) and A World History (1967), people often compared Plagues and Peoples to these books. The Rise of the West: a History of the Human Community (1963) emphasized the history of Western civilization, and the connection between modern science and technology. This book covers 5000 years of Western civilization. A World History (1967) focused the old world civilization of India, Europe, China, and the Middle East. McNeill gives attention to archaeological discoveries, geography, and most important events in civilization since
1976.
In conclusion, William McNeill’s book is considered to be a radical and timeless analysis of history. McNeill came to the conclusion that we might never understand the most important factors of disease; the host and the virus. McNeill’s book impacts the way that we view diseases such as HIV and AIDS. It seems as if he was predicting its arrival. Although this was a well written book, McNeill has a tendency to over generalize his writing, causing distortion and errors.