In the chapter “Evil Air” Charles Mann’s argues that disease had a profound effect on Colonial Europe, and far-reaching consequences can still be seen in the modern-day. Firstly, Mann introduces the idea that disease was one of the major reasons Scotland and England completely merged. In 1698, the Scots set out to build a colony in Panama. They hoped to disrupt the Spanish monopoly on both silver and silk. The venture was a colossal failure as almost 84% of the colonists died because of disease. The Scottish people had invested between a quarter and half of the country’s capital in the venture and lost it all (94). The resulting financial struggle was one of the factors that lead Scotland to acquiesce to “the Union Act of 1707”, merging them
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Once Europe realized this, demand for African slaves exploded. Mann uses scientific evidence in the form of an NIH study from the 70’s to demonstrate that the Duffy antigen is notably absent from most people of African descent (100). Mann uses a primary historical record, a survey taken by the British government in the 19th century, to show the differences in death rates for Africans and Europeans. Finally, Mann uses economic reasoning to explain why African slaves became so popular (102).
“Tobacco Coast” takes a different approach as Mann makes three separate arguments. Mann begins by proposing that the reason Jamestown was moderately successful was John Rolfe. Rolfe was the British colonist who brought tobacco to Jamestown in 1610 (39). Smoking was a craze in England, there were over seven thousand tobacco houses in London alone! However, tobacco was considered slightly “unpatriotic” due to the Spanish monopoly. e Virginian, English grown tobacco resolved this issue. It was high quality, and more patriotic. Tobacco houses brought Virginian tobacco by the barrel allowing the smoking craze to grow …show more content…
In the first chapter, Mann made one overarching argument that was supported by two smaller augments. In the second chapter, Mann made three very separate arguments. The chapters also used evidence in different ways. “Evil Air” had a greater reliance on statistics and surveys both modern and historical while “Tobacco Coast” featured more first-person accounts of specific events or phenomena. Both paragraphs used modern science to better understand the past, though they used it different ways. “Evil Air” uses Miller’s study to show that West and Central Africans today are resistant to a certain kind of malaria, and that is why they stayed alive in the New World, making them the best investment. “Tobacco Coast” uses Hale’s research to understand how worms changed the environment. Both paragraph solely used European accounts of history. While this may seem biased, it is likely that there are very few records documenting African or indigenous perspectives on this era of
Once Europe realized this, demand for African slaves exploded. Mann uses scientific evidence in the form of an NIH study from the 70’s to demonstrate that the Duffy antigen is notably absent from most people of African descent (100). Mann uses a primary historical record, a survey taken by the British government in the 19th century, to show the differences in death rates for Africans and Europeans. Finally, Mann uses economic reasoning to explain why African slaves became so popular (102).
“Tobacco Coast” takes a different approach as Mann makes three separate arguments. Mann begins by proposing that the reason Jamestown was moderately successful was John Rolfe. Rolfe was the British colonist who brought tobacco to Jamestown in 1610 (39). Smoking was a craze in England, there were over seven thousand tobacco houses in London alone! However, tobacco was considered slightly “unpatriotic” due to the Spanish monopoly. e Virginian, English grown tobacco resolved this issue. It was high quality, and more patriotic. Tobacco houses brought Virginian tobacco by the barrel allowing the smoking craze to grow …show more content…
In the first chapter, Mann made one overarching argument that was supported by two smaller augments. In the second chapter, Mann made three very separate arguments. The chapters also used evidence in different ways. “Evil Air” had a greater reliance on statistics and surveys both modern and historical while “Tobacco Coast” featured more first-person accounts of specific events or phenomena. Both paragraphs used modern science to better understand the past, though they used it different ways. “Evil Air” uses Miller’s study to show that West and Central Africans today are resistant to a certain kind of malaria, and that is why they stayed alive in the New World, making them the best investment. “Tobacco Coast” uses Hale’s research to understand how worms changed the environment. Both paragraph solely used European accounts of history. While this may seem biased, it is likely that there are very few records documenting African or indigenous perspectives on this era of