Title Fatal contact : how epidemics nearly wiped out Australia's first peoples / Peter Dowling

Published Clayton, Victoria : Monash University Publishing, [2021]

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Description 1 online resource (xxx, 306 pages) : illustrations Series Australian History Ser Australian History Ser Contents The major epidemic diseases -- Sexually transmitted disease -- Respiratory diseases -- The lived experience: Communities then and now Summary "Fatal Contact explores the devastating infectious diseases introduced into the Indigenous populations of Australia after the arrival of the British colonists in 1788. Epidemics of smallpox, tuberculosis, influenza, measles and sexually transmitted diseases swept through the Indigenous populations of the continent well into the twentieth century. The consequences still echo today in Aboriginal health and life expectancy. Many historians have acknowledged that introduced diseases caused much sickness and mortality among the Aboriginal populations and were part of the huge population decline following colonisation. But few writers have elaborated further, and much of this history is still missing, even after more than 200 years. Our knowledge and understanding of the biological consequences surrounding the meeting and contact of these two cultures has not yet been fully investigated. Fatal Contact examines the major epidemics and explains the complexities of disease infection and immunology: which diseases were responsible for the Aboriginal population decline across Australia in the colonial period, when and where did they occur, how severe where they, how long did they last, which diseases were more devastating, and why were they so devastating? The book also considers the individual medical history of Truganini, the Tasmanian Aboriginal woman erroneously known as 'the Last Tasmanian'. By focusing on the disease burden she faced during her life, the author creates a deeper and personal understanding of how First Nation Australians suffered and yet survived. What this investigation reveals is nothing short of the greatest human tragedy in the long history of Australia. This is a vitally important story that all Australians should read"--Publisher's description Bibliography Includes bibliographical references and index Notes Online resource; title from digital title page (viewed on November 24, 2021) Subject Epidemics -- Australia -- History -- 18th century Aboriginal Australians, Treatment of -- History -- 18th century Aboriginal Australians -- Health and hygiene -- History -- 18th century Smallpox -- Australia -- History -- 18th century Communicable diseases -- History -- 18th century Public health -- Australia -- 18th century Epidemics -- Government policy -- Australia -- 18th century Aboriginal Australians -- Health and hygiene Aboriginal Australians, Treatment of Communicable diseases Epidemics Epidemics -- Government policy Public health Smallpox Australia Genre/Form History Form Electronic book ISBN 9781922464477 1922464473 9781922464484 1922464481

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