For centuries, the figure of Cristóbal Colón has been associated with discovery of America and Expansion of the Spanish Empire. However, A dark face of his legacy has returned to the public conversation: Its possible involvement in the spread of a devastating disease in Europe.
Now, new scientific research suggests that one of the Most feared evils in the Old World He could have arrived from the New World.
A virus on the other side of the Atlantic
According to recent investigations from the Max Planck Institute of Germanythere are solid indications that sectora sexually transmitted disease that reached pandemic levels in EThe 16th century, I would have had Origin in America.
Bone Remains Analysis of Peoples Pre -Columbian in Mexico and South America They show signs of characteristic injuries of this infection, even centuries before Columbus's first trip in 1492. These discoveries revive the theory that has circulated for decades: that the sailors who accompanied the admiral brought with them the bacteria Treponema pale To Europe after its expeditions.
Graphical representation of the arrival of Columbus to America
The debate is still open
However, not all scientists are convinced. Some archaeologists have found European remains prior to 1492 With similar symptoms, which suggests that forms of syphilis could have existed in the continent before the Colombian trip.
The discussion is not only medical the scientific. It also implies a review of how the great milestones of history have been narrated. Columbus's role as a possible vector of one of the most cruel epidemics of the Modern Age forces to clarify his figure and to rethink the Collateral effects of “discovery.”
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History is not always white or black. The impact of Christopher Columbus goes beyond Maps, conquests and treaties. It also includes invisible consequences that affected entire generations. The possible Introduction of syphilis in Europe It is another example of how official history can hide uncomfortable, but fundamental episodes to understand our past.
