# Didn't Native Americans give syphilis to the Europeans?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/didnt-native-americans-give-syphilis-to-the-europeans/544004>\
**Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\
**Created:** [June 21, 2010, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/didnt-native-americans-give-syphilis-to-the-europeans/544004 "2010-06-21T17:08:24Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![drastic\_quench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e36b37/32.png) [@drastic\_quench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drastic_quench)\
**Post date:** [June 21, 2010, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/didnt-native-americans-give-syphilis-to-the-europeans/544004/1 "2010-06-21T17:08:24Z")

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> **[The amazing history of chewing gum](https://www.straightdope.com/21341488/the-amazing-history-of-chewing-gum)**

I realize this is an older column, but everything I’ve read and the documentaries I’ve seen stated that the Europeans brought smallpox and took back syphilis - specifically to Spain.

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**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\
**Post date:** [June 21, 2010, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/didnt-native-americans-give-syphilis-to-the-europeans/544004/2 "2010-06-21T21:39:39Z")

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That was the common belief, but I think more recent evidence points to syphilis being found in Europe well before Columbus. No cites handy; I saw a PBS show about it, though.

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**Author:** ![John\_W.Kennedy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_w.kennedy/32/1031_2.png) [@John\_W.Kennedy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_W.Kennedy)\
**Post date:** [June 22, 2010, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/didnt-native-americans-give-syphilis-to-the-europeans/544004/3 "2010-06-22T16:07:14Z")

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I, for one, suspect that there were New World and Old World strains to which the local humans had considerable immunity, but which burned through the opposite populations.

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**Author:** ![bonzer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/45deac/32.png) [@bonzer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bonzer)\
**Post date:** [June 22, 2010, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/didnt-native-americans-give-syphilis-to-the-europeans/544004/4 "2010-06-22T22:08:48Z")

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For about the last decade, the standard evidence for pre-Columbian syphillis in Europe has been [from an excavation in Hull](http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/english-syphilis-epidemic-predated-european-outbreaks-by-150-years-706243.html) and [that has been questioned](http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/science-news/3321872/Columbus-did-bring-syphilis-from-America.html).

As I’ve suggested before on the Dope, I suspect the archaeological uncertainties are too great in this instance for a definite answer. Is the pre-Columbian evidence in the Americas actually better than that in Europe? And then **John** ’s suggestion seems as plausible to me as any other.

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**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\
**Post date:** [June 23, 2010, 11:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/didnt-native-americans-give-syphilis-to-the-europeans/544004/5 "2010-06-23T11:24:25Z")

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Cecil addresses this fairly quickly in a 15-year old column: [Why did so many Native Americans die of European diseases but not vice versa? - The Straight Dope](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/995/why-did-so-many-native-americans-die-of-european-diseases-but-not-vice-versa)