[Monterrosa-24]

And as for syphilis, it was arguably an American Indian gift to Europe because as you point out it was unknown in Europe before the early voyages.

[GSlob]

"And as for syphilis, it was arguably an American Indian gift to Europe "
Girolamo Fracastoro was a learned physician who had to treat it (in Europe, in Italy). He was a man of so profound insight as to propose microbial theory of contagious diseases way before anyone had any clue what he was talking about. Thus I could do worse than humbly defer to his judgment. If he wrote it up as French Disease, then the French Disease it must have been, for he surely had weighty reasons for writing so.