The Flu Virus of 1918., actually it started in 1917 in many views, so I like to call it the 1917 flu.
There are 2 main theories in June 2006, to it's spread.
(A) The commonest theory in the 1990s, was that it started off in the USA, and spread via, troop movements, then spread rapidly as of World War One,
(B) it started off in the trenches of World War One, among British and German troops, then rampantly spread as of that.
(C) A recent view, tries to claim Tibet was a source, and also states flu started in China, just as apparently "ALL FLU STARTS IN CHINA", this is not true, as there were cases of flu spreading from Russia in teh late 19th Century, and were cases of flu spreading in numerous occasions from many lands. Anyhow, whatever that theory is trying to claim, the fcat is it is just a fanciful extension of the (a) theory.
I go for the second version, as I saw a documentry which wanted to believe it, and in truth they sounded very reasonable.
Some people say that world war one "probabaly" aided the spread of flu, it did not, it certainly did, just as the Mongol Horde, and wars helped spread black death, there is NO DOUBT ABOUT IT. Before the 18th Century most deaths in most major wars, of soldiers, were of disease, so in reality it is not that amazing that a war that killed over 16 million people, in war and killing, would also cause a epidemic that would kill so many millions.
The virus then to the 3 main theories, was undoubtably spread and so caused by World War One, and without it, would almost certainly never have erupted, and certainly would have been far less important.
Why it is OK to blame the 1918 flu virus on World War One,
and et tu, Kaiser Wilhelm, Tsar Nicholas, and Emperor whoever his name is of 1914
Austria. And so ok to blame them for the deaths of tens of millions of humanoid
life forms.
Well there is no doubt we can blame World War One on the German
Kaiser, Austrian Emperor, and Tsar Nikoloi.
Lets give half the death toll,
to the Kaiser, then a quarter on the Russian Emperor, and ¼ on the Austrian
Emperor.
So how can I say this, you may ask, well its as the, German emperor,
can be blamed for WW1, as he led the land, that can be blamed most,
Then we
can blame Austria and Russia, for a quarter each,
As they were partly to
blame too, Russian mobilisation saw Germany have to invade it,
And Austria's
invasion of Serbia, caused WW1 to start,
So we can blame that on something
like 70 million death to share,
Of which most were the 1918 flu virus,
It was called Spanish influenza,
Because it was where the flu struck at massive
rates first, to some,
And to some, as it was where people noticed it in papers,
first
As other lands were more interested in WW1, the Spanish called it a
French disease,
But it was produced in the trenches, almost certainly,
Amid Brits troops, Germans or Americans,
I think it is OK to blame the people
who started the war though for causing this events,
The weakened nature of
the population,
Just as it is ok, to say Stalin caused teh deaths of Millions of Ukranians, as he caused the famine in teh 1930s by his actions, and it is ok, to blame the British royal regime of the 1840s for the Irish Famine, and so on,
A major add on to the flu, was the fact people had less food, in war & had to do more, work,
Which helped weaken people, and make them more prone to
suffering,
This was especially so in the trenches where people were unnaturally
close together in wet mud, and unhealthy conditions, of some misery,
At times,
wounded & having to look over raining trenches,
This saw the disease
almost incubated in trenches among the wounded & tired,
Where it could
spread from,
Also the fact of troops movements then spread it, & times,
uncontrolled, by authorities,
And the fact they were in a state of war,
Harming ordinary security measures for population & army,
And the fact
that wounded people were so commoner in the 1910s, and so millions of weakened
immune systems,
This also saw doctors sent to the trenches lowering medical,
care at homes,
And many actually sent to fight which radically reduced medical
care everywhere,
The lack of international co-operation & of civilian authority also spread it,
With states actually opposing eachother, rather
than helping eachother,
So civilians authorities could not say help, health
needs are vital,
No the army could say come on,
We do not want to be
beaten, & enslaved, or we want to win as we are the way,
So the army, and even civilian imperial authorities from India, to Britain were contending with war matters,
Rather than a major healt crisis, which by teh time the
war ended let teh war incubate and spread, horribly, worldwide,
The
disease also was incubated,
& not able to be thought as people were thinking
of other things,
Also it was spread by civilian populations working harder,
Working longer hours,
And women were in work more, so this was social change,
& that can not have helped,
You know to push people from home to work,
I
mean yes it was a good thing, that women were able to work,
But likely they
now had to do things which at the time were regarded as traditional women's chores
& also new employment work too,
Such as on busses, and in war factories,
With very few men at home in some cases to do their normal chores,
Making
it possibly even harder,
And also more people becoming ill as of flu, &
the war, so making it even harder, again, so making flu find it easier to spread,
And a weaker economy as of food sanctions, around Europe,
& blockades
& of stress & strains of home life,
When sons, or husbands, are
a way at war, which surely would harm the emotional resrves of many millions,
As of this it was able to spread into third world cities from Europe,
Just
like plague as a strong start there,
& not fought when weak, & was
created that spread world-wide,
As of imperial capitalism,
& feudal
ways weakening populations, & attempts to fight it there,
You see Imperial
capitalism, could spread teh disease to Third World Villages, via it's fast transports,
In normal war circumstances it would have been surely (thats strong words)
unable to incubate so well in Europe
But it was caused by the war,
And
the war made it worse,
Peace, saw that, in 1918,
The blockade stays,
on Germany, till after Versailles,
This saw many Germans saved as of not having to fight in the Western Trenches anymore,
But of course Flu was
dying out, but carrying on, as the epidemic had been started so carried on, taking
time to stop,
As I said before the flu epidemic stayed killing,
While
Britain protected by the Channel was not as badly hit by flu as Germany
So
if you do not include flu deaths as WW1,
Deaths then you are making WW1,
Seem less bad than it would have been if there had not been a flu epidemic
it caused,
The idea that the flu started in America & spread as of their
troops going to the areas,
May have some truth, in giving a stronger outbreak,
but even that is probably wrong,
Many say the spread of flu was aided by pig
farms in the US, spreading it to humans,
And others that it spread straight
from Tibet to America human to human,
And that then it went to Europe, in
US ship transports, and then spread,
A disease which were kept cramped by
cost effective trenches,
When you listen to some things German leaders of
the monarchical system,
Said before the war,
And after it, then it
is not amazing,
That they caused such a huge amounts of deaths globally,
As in the couple of decades prior, they had planned annexations, of lands from
New York, to China,
And said they wanted Britain to lose India, during
world war one,
And did not see the possibility of huge numbers of deaths enough
to avert war,
Lets see, India, accounted for a massive amount of the flu deaths, you may say, well India was not in thwe war really,
Well I have to tell you, that that is wrong.
If you look ta the fcats it was a major part of World Wra One, in that it was the jewel in the crown of The British Empire,
And in that India, was massively entrapped, within the capitalist system, this meant that shipping lanes, and soldiers, would bring a disease to India, certainly. And once teh disease started British authorities in India, were NOT obssessed, with a disease killing millions, they were fearing Germanand their almost puppet ally Turkey's inspired attempts at revolts in Central Asia, that were aimed to cause the empire in India, to be wrecked. A
Added to this, I read, that it teh case that Indian troops involved in World War One, fighting for Britain, were regarded as teh main reason for the Flu Virus.
It is also the case for Nepal, where the flu virus spread after the return of soldiers.
So in what was a World War, (some like to claim it was just a European war, but the only continent that escaped massive change as of the war was South America, so it was a world war, when you see the small conflicts that happened in Africa, i.e Tanzania, and also the conflicts in Asia, such as Japanese takes of German lands,)
The reason why WW1, in some ways caused more death including
flu than WW2,
Was the sides involved in causing WW1, Austria, Germany, &
Russia,
Had more irrepressibly bad morals, put together, & larger populations,
Than all the sides in WW2 other than German puppets, and the German regime,
But anyhow back to the crisis,
Parts of Canada like some villages
in Quebec were virtually wiped out by the disease,
Very strong epidemic, of
very rare mortality,
Most like this are caused by the roughness of war,
It was bad in India, partly as of poverty & partly as of normal things,
Partly as of trauma to society as of trade with Europe changing, good & bad,
And
also as of Indian troops going to flu ridden Europe, & doctors,
So then
spreading it back,
And it then not getting much investment or care from officials,
As they were concentrating on Britain's war,
And by how neighbours like
Turkey & Iran & Russia lost trade for them,
& E-Africa so spreading
the disease,
Indeed there would not have been much concentration on the
disease in India,
As the European elite would have concentrated on what was
occurring in Europe, even papers in India,
During the worst of the epidemic
would have,
& as of Europe's war making it itself a petri dish for the
disease,
So able to spread far more among poverty stricken India,
Than anywhere else,
Such as poverty stricken cramped Bombay so badly affected
by plague in the 1890s, a breeding ground in those days for epidemics,
And
other areas hurt by famine in the prior decades, & by European colonialism,
Also
it was so badly hit,
As it was closer to world trade than Africa which was
less badly, affected in many areas,
Africa poorer as of Empire, yes, but India,
was almost as poor,
& yes you could blame Britain for it being so poor,
But the epidemic would not have spread there,
& been so bad if not
for Germany's actions,
Its like the fact the Brits left the area a cramped
tinderbox, of rich Brits,
& rich Indians getting so much of the space
in cities, but the Germans lit the fuse,
This poverty did not cause a flu
epidemic of such veracity any other time,
Other than povicides, & famines,
which were also bad,
So Germany, Russia, and Austria's monarchs, caused the
war & the epidemic,
& caused it to spread to India,
A nation
that was firmly in the capitalist orbit,
& used to supply things for
WW1, like America,
America was more of the place to build machines for Britain,
Making a small economic boom for it,
So there is no surprise flu spread
there, from troops,
But India, did too, & was a base for troops sent to
Arabia, & Europe,
Also Germany built that railway to the Gulf of Mesopotamia,
in 1910s,
So this was seen as a threat to some, to India,
It also said
in 1914 that it would be great if WW1, lost India, for Britain,
To the puppet
Sultan of Turkey,
Essentially Ottomans would be a empire of Germany, like
India was for Britain, & rule for decades,
In furthant oppression,
So
India, in the modern capitalist economy in this smaller world,
Was intimately
poor, & intimately connected to the rich world,
So was an extra part
of it, so no wonder it got flu, in it's blankets in textile mills,
And soldiers
barracks,
So it spread like epidemics in the wars of many wars to neighbours,
Like in the 1650s Ireland,
Nobody who looks at the history of 1650s Ireland, would claim that the plague, that killed a tenth to a half of the people, was not spread as of the war,
This plague started off in royal
held ports, then spread to areas,
Some areas hit by it, were surely never
really touched that much by the war, like a village, out in a moor, surely was
hit,
But nobody could deny that really the war caused by the king's request for Ireland to invade Britain, was the cause of that plague's veracity,
Or that teh typhus epidemic that killed so many Kazakhs in the 1930s was caused by Communisation,
Or that when Anne Frank died of typhys in a concentration camp, only the most evil, vicous. lier, would claim anything other than teh Holocaust was teh cause of that typhus epidemic,
I think we can agree, there is no
doubt World War One caused teh flu epidemic,
And the weakness all added to
it, as in India, where it got so bad world-wide that,
It then spread to India,
too it could have not have as Indians are not all that different,
It is true
that certain races will be marginally more susceptible to disease,
They have
not encountered before,
But as in the Americas, after Columbus that is not
the whole story, & other things add to that,
I mean after Columbus, reached the Americas the population, as most people know, collapsed, as of epidemics,
But there is recent evidence that shows actually a major cause was the slavery on Native Americans making them less able to sustain themselves through new diseases.
So Like poverty & war, & lack of government being able to
cope, as in India,
A German nation which did harbour some policies there,
Like wanting to provoke revolt there in 1916, via Muslim action in Afghanistan,
When they wanted to use the Sultan's plea for Jihad against Britain,
&
sent Turkish forces to provoke Turkish revolts in Russia, & India,
Surely
as Brits knew this they would have concentrated on this, not the Indian epidemic,
Which is true as they only started concentrating in December, 1918, there,
Also 40,000 of 150,000 US doctors joined the army, Which surely aided teh spread
of flu,
By having less medical care, in the US,
WW1, also provoked
small revolts in Sri Lanka,
And also in Africa as of mutinies,
The
12,000 deaths in Australia, saw it caused by returning soldiers,
Firstly
reaching Melbourne in January 1919,
People did not even know for a while if
it was a proper flu, or something new,
So I think it is right to blame Kaiser
Wilhelm, for the epidemic & deaths,
Just like some for others,
Just like Germany for Namibia's desert deaths in places their troops never entered,
Where the disease was spread by populations fleeing from them,
Meeting
people no German met, & who had always lived in the desert, catching diseases,
or having no resources,
If anything the amount of people who died in Russia
in world war one,
Was less than could have been expected,
And for much
of the rest of Europe,
& even rest of the world, like India,
Where
revolts were wanted by Germany,
So it is fair to say they aimed for as many
deaths,
& saw as many deaths by other means,
Just like how many genocides
planned murders,
But were achieved to evil wanters welcome, by disease &
the murders aimed for,
In such a global trade environment where Indian troops
were involved,
This may not have been expected but it occurred,
And spread
world-wide too,
To other European colonies of this basically European power's
war,
A world that the Kaiser wanted to own saw the war, kill millions,
So
it was a world war, as everyone says it was, & they were right it killed millions,
Of course with the flu getting so bad, it then spread world-wide,
And just
like in Prussia's war in 1870,
We can blame Prussia for pox deaths in Britain
in that epidemic,
And the Kaiser for British deaths in WW1,
The flu epidemic got worst in Germany, then reached India, in
June 1918,
In Karachi, & ports, like Madras, then Bombay,
It was
spread there as of war,
& as of reaching there, of course then spread
more among India,
As I say as so many doctors were away serving Britain,
& as training fell as of that, in war, this hurt badly,
It hit the
Japanese navy in May 1918,
With servicemen spreading it As I say,
I think
that proves you can blame Germany for the WW1 deaths,
In bringing in so many
lands to a war they invited them to,
And so causing a flu,
Intelligent
forces would have feared these plagues,
Like after WW2 there was a fear
of plague spreading through Europe,
After war like the Pox in 1870, &
flu in 1918,
But as of UN action,
& some better condition this fear
maybe by chance did not materialise,
Except small famines,
But for
famines you can say land's have food & can cope with them better,
But
find it harder to cope with epidemics & bacteria, a unknown quantity,
You may say that it is unfair on Russia & Austria-Hungary,
To give them
a quarter each the blame for the deaths of WW1, & flu there,
I say it
is OK, as the Russians knew the war would cause the great game to go crazy,
& if not they were mad,
A great game they had violently added to,
And for Austria-Hungary, they knew war would cause war with Russia, then France,
Then Britain, & probably see Ottomans involved, so they were to blame
for that too,
& did know Germany had relations down there to the E,
And did know that wars could lead to diseases & epidemics,
For this I
say it is OK to give it 1/4 the blame for WW1, deaths & flu deaths other than
massacres,
Which go to the blame of the sides who committed them in most cases,
So
they knew India, existed, & knew that their country had a boundary with the
Ottomans,
Who they knew would be in their war, & the Ottomans, were only
a small Gulf,
Away from India & Pakistan, a place of a empire they knew
they would be at war with if they invaded India, to defend their imperial colonisation
of Serbia, & kingly expansionism, And oppression of peoples who did not want
to live under their empire,
So it was their fault they made the unreasonable
act,
& were oppressors, of minorities, & POWs,
So can get a quarter
of the blame, as they caused it & knew what would happen,
But Germany
was the key instigator, & Russia equally to blame with Austria,
France,
Britain & the Ottomans,
Were asked, to go to war,
Or were doing
something they had promised they would do, so the Emperors cauased the influenza
epidemic of 1918,
And if they had not,
They might aswell have had
a population that lied on their backs, & were slaves,
The same for Italy,
& America who were encouraged to go to war,
For their interests like
for Italians in the Adriatic,
Or as of French hopes, & who of course
as the Germans,
& other sides knew the Brits & French would want
in the war to help them win a war,
Which they reasonably wanted to win, so
again Italy joining was Austria's fault,
For oppressing Italy in prior Cs,
So making it more nat & wanting it's old lands,
And for creating
a situation of war,
Where in such nat times, Italy would want to use that
for it's benefit,
WW2 was different as Italy had nat ambitions which by the
1930s,
Were going out of date,
& were not believed by all lands
so it was unreasonable that time for them to enter,
And also it was the
case that the Italians, surely had a right to enter the war,
As the war could
spread even greater epidemics than flu, & they helped,
Quicken the end
of the war so maybe reduce the amount of Italian epidemic deaths & other,
And also Austria wanted Italy to go to war for it, & knew Italy was prepared
to fight,
& if Italy did not, it could end up having a huge land to the
N, threatening it's economic,
Entry to the Adriatic, & it did want to
make Italy a puppet state did Germany remember,
& also most important
it was the German nation's fault, for making Britain & France,
Have
to fight, & of course they would then offer things in the nat interest to
Italy, to join the war,
As it suited them so would suit Austria,
And
it's the same for all sides who joined,
They would have been more oppressed
under German domination,
And it was their fault,
For making a situation
where a time of nat countries would be lured to fight wars,
Against that
domination & for their own interests,
In the situation of Germany winning
the war,
Italy would have seen world trade as German controlled,
And
trade always accounts for over a quarter of every economy,
Via resources
& trade, maybe almost all future progress,
If Germany lost & they
helped this, they could gain they felt, & it would suit France,
&
Britain to encourage Italy to join, so they could survive as democracies,
& major powers, so maybe its not that amazing they joined the war,
When Britain & France, would of course want them to join
them,
And when the option was to not join & so be possibly dominated
by Germany,
Or see the less likely prospect of a French win, where they gain
nothing,
Or such, & then so,
Also the Germans, & Austrians
knew Italy joining the war was possible,
As they made overtures to them joining
them,
& knew they & the US were possible joiners in 1914, & did
not care if they did join,
So in that case Germany knew they would join &
caused them to join so was to blame,
Especially when there was an aspect for
Italy,
Of fighting a power that was still oppressing Italians,
And
when they had invaded lands, oppressed lands & caused the war,
Some Italians
felt the annexation of Bosnia,
In 1908 was a affront & act of arrogance
that deserved war,
As it now threatened Italy,
So in reality in such
a nat time, Italy was lured to war, to fight it's ancient enemy,
And Austria
should have known the bit would be strong especially since,
It had allied
with Italy in some senses & Germany in the late 19thC, but seen this pact
fail,
For the purpose of it's wars, & knew that Italy would want to join
a war,
Where it's neighbours were at war to finally rid itself of a strong
neighbour,
When Italy had such a tradition of the 1910s of invasions,
Well that last reason is not good enough to fight a war,
As then every land
would invade every land,
But in such a situation of real conflagration of
war,
Italy was lured to a war it should maybe not have fought,
And
this luring by France & Britain was acceptable on their behalf as they wanted
allies,
And were fighting for their freedom,
& knew that as the
Ottomans had joined if they lost another ally they would lose,
And knew that
otherwise Italy may align to their enemies, it did not have to fight,
It
was Italy's king & such's fault,
But Italy was lured to war,
&
Austria should not have been oppressing Italian minorities o had made a mistake
there,
Of ignoring Italian wishes, & should have offered it small parcels
of land,
As peace offerings, or not annexed Bosnia,
Or gone to war,
So there is a just made it case, for saying Italy went to war,
As Austria
& Germany made it do, by having a war,
& luring it in, & being
so menacing to it,
Inflation ruins Germany's state pensions, benefit's values,
in that land,
The 1919 Versailles treaty, saw Brits/France/US fine Germany,
& split bits off it,
They gave reparations which planned for millions
to paid a year over decades,
Regarded with hate & humiliation back in
Germany,
But many said well they started it, so there,
And also Austria-Hungary
was split apart,
Using at times, but not always Woodrow Wilson's self determination
hopes,
If we say typhus killinmg peopel in Gulags, was a crime, as I do, and I hope you, do then flu was too.
let this be a warming to all Montenegrans of why they should not support monarchy.
There is no doubt
that World War One, caused the flu of 1918.
People who say otherwise,
are Nazi Holocaust deniers.
Here are some more sites, there are books and articles on the subjects in many internet places, or internet book shops, bookstores, at the bottom, are lists of which were the worst regimes of the past few centuries.
Links to our 100s of websites, http://www.lonympics.co.uk/
What were the Worst regimes of the 20th Century
The Story of World War One Aviation, and it's battles
A site on the Belgian Congo, and how the king of that land killed 10s of millions of Congolese
Why the French Revolution was good
The Story of World War One Aviation, and it's battles
The most evil regimes of the 19th Century
What were the nicest regimes ever
The Best regimes ever in terms of achievers
Worst 17th Century regimes ever
A site stating what have been the world's largest empires ever
What would happen in a war between these sides
What were the most evil regimes ever
A list stating what were the worst 1990s regimes
What were the worst 16th Century regimes ever
Why it was right to punish Tsar Nicolas, Charles I, and the French Kings, even when right wingers call them martyrs, when they were murderers. Who deserved punishment just as much as any modern criminals. Or the crinminals of their time.
What were the worst 15th Century regimes ever
What were the worst 2000s regimes
A site stating the 10 largest majority English speaking lands, as their main tongue in the world
A site on space, and the records to do with this subject
A site on a time traveling revolutionary
The world's 10 most powerful countries in 2008
My Worst regimes of the 20th century essay