Diseases

Diseases

People in the 1600's suffered and died from smallpox, measles, influenza, and diphtheria, though they often did not call these diseases by the names we use. Nor were illnesses usually diagnosed so clearly. The Fever, for example, was used to indicate a number of illness. Consumption usually referred to tuberculosis. But the term also was applied to any wasting illness, including some cancers that were not recognized as such. Influenza was common in the 1600's, as was scurvy - a disease caused by a lack of vitamin C in the diet.

Excerpt adapted from the "Colonial Life in America" article, The World Book Encyclopedia © 1999