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Mata Pelajaran Bahasa Inggris Kelas X




                  G.  Cek Kemampuan


                  Read the text carefuly!


                                                The history of Smallpox 1520


                         The  two  decades  following  Christopher  Columbus’s  arrival  in  the

                  Caribbean, he witnessed numerous outbreaks of diseases among both European
                  and indigenous populations. Smallpox, which emerged in 1518 among the native

                  population  of  Hispaniola,  became  the  first  clearly  documented  killer  disease

                  imported from the Old World by European visitors. The disease spread quickly,
                  claiming one-third of the native population. From Hispaniola it spread further to

                  other islands, reaching the Mexican mainland in 1520, coinciding with Cortés’s
                  siege of the Aztec capital, Tenochtitlán. From central Mexico, smallpox moved

                  into Guatemala the following year, and thereupon continued into other areas of
                  Central America, the Andean highlands and South America where the disease is

                  believed to have arrived sometime between 1524 and 1530 when an outbreak

                  continued  through  the  Inca  Empire,  decimating  thousands  of  its  population
                  including  several  members  of  the  Inca  royal  family.  Brazil  experienced  an

                  outbreak  of  smallpox  in  1562,  and  subsequently,  the  disease  made  waves  at
                  regular intervals during the rest of the colonial period. Responses to the smallpox

                  epidemic  were  varied.  They  include  priests  organising  religious  marches  and
                  ministering to the sick and dying. Government officials and wealthy citizens made

                  donations for charity hospitals. In response to an exceptionally severe outbreak

                  in 1589, the viceroy of Peru issued specific medical instructions towards helping
                  district governments lessen the impact of the outbreak. Lima physicians advised

                  the use of quarantine among all native communities to prevent further spread of

                  the  disease.  Quarantines  proved  largely  problematic.  However,  other
                  recommended  public  health  measures  included  sticking  to  a  diet  of  meat,

                  presumably to boost the immune system. One recommendation in particular was
                  historically noteworthy: the viceroy urged families to minimise physical contact in

                  order to prevent spreading the infection among themselves.







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