Mosquito Empires: Ecology and War in the Greater Caribbean, 1620-1914

by J. R. McNeill

Series:New Approaches to the Americas (2010)

Description

This book explores the links among ecology, disease, and international politics in the context of the Greater Caribbean - the landscapes lying between Surinam and the Chesapeake - in the seventeenth through early twentieth centuries. Ecological changes made these landscapes especially suitable for the vector mosquitoes of yellow fever and malaria, and these diseases wrought systematic havoc among armies and would-be settlers. Because yellow fever confers immunity on survivors of the disease, show more and because malaria confers resistance, these diseases played partisan roles in the struggles for empire and revolution, attacking some populations more severely than others. In particular, yellow fever and malaria attacked newcomers to the region, which helped keep the Spanish Empire Spanish in the face of predatory rivals in the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. In the late eighteenth and through the nineteenth century, these diseases helped revolutions to succeed by decimating forces sent out from Europe to prevent them. show less

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SDWets 182 reviews

This book was also issued as a core text for War at Sea in the Age of Sail elective in the fall trimester of 2023 at the Naval War College. Read chapters 1-3 and 5. Really enjoyed this book and its unique perspective on history and the impact of ecology and mosquitos.

Nov 11, 2023

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folkthepolice 17 reviews

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Author Information

J. R. McNeill

19+ Works 1,282 Members

Awards and Honors

Awards

Beveridge Family Prize in American History (2010)

PROSE Award (Winner – European & World History – 2010)

Series

New Approaches to the Americas

18 works (2010)

Work Relationships

Has as a study

'Black and yellow' in TLS 5600, 30 July 2010 [review of JR McNeill's 'Mosquito Empires: ecology & war in the greater Caribbean, 1620-1914'] by Gabriel Paquette

Common Knowledge

Canonical title: Mosquito Empires: Ecology and War in the Greater Caribbean, 1620-1914
Original publication date: 2010
Important places: Caribbean Region
Important events: Yellow Fever Epidemic

Classifications

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Science & Nature, Anthropology, General Nonfiction
DDC/MDS: 972.9 — History & geography History of North America Mexico, Central America, West Indies, Bermuda West Indies (Antilles) and Bermuda; Caribbean
LCC: F1621 .M38 — Local History of the United States, Canada and Latin America Latin America. Spanish America West Indies
BISAC: HIS HISTORY Europe Renaissance

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Members: 134
Popularity: 242,831
Reviews: 1
Rating: ½ (4.40)

Languages: English
Media: Paper, Ebook
ISBNs: 10
ASINs: 2

Mosquito Empires: Ecology and War in the Greater Caribbean, 1620-1914

by J. R. McNeill

Series:New Approaches to the Americas (2010)

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