Consequences of Premodern Epidemics

Question 1

Plague & Lethal Epidemics in the Pre-industrial world

Answer 1

Urbanisation, war and trade were mechanisms for plague to transmit and spread. Italy was the first country to quarantine people due to extensive international trade routes.

SR impact: trade disruption, human capital loss
MR impact: Inc. demand for L -> Inc. wages -> Dec. inequality

The MR impact did not always persist: countries with well-defined property rights that protected the elites perpetuated inequality through serfdom

Question 2

The depopulation of Hispanic America in the 16th century

Answer 2

Historical events unique to each country, new diseases brought by Europeans, violence, socioeconomic dislocation and disruption of communities all played a role in the depopulation of Hispanic America in countries like Peru, Paraguay & Mexico.
- The LT consequences of diseases devastated the populations 100-200 years after the conquest