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Article: GLOBAL EXPLANATIONS VERSUS LOCAL INTERPRETATIONS: THE HISTORIOGRAPHY OF THE INFLUENZA PANDEMIC OF 1918-19 IN AFRICA
- Article from:
- History In Africa
- Article date:
- January 1, 2006
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright African Studies Association 2006. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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In 1918 an influenza pandemic of unprecedented virulence spread across the planet, infiltrating nearly all areas of human habitation. In less than a year the pandemic had run its course, ultimately responsible for somewhere between 30,000,000 and 50,000,000 deaths worldwide. Truly, this
was one of the greatest catastrophes in human history. However, despite the fact that the influenza pandemic has few historical rivals in terms of sheer loss of human life, it has not entered the meta-narrative of world history, nor indeed national histories, to the same extent that major wars or natural disasters have. To date, most of the historical work on the influenza pandemic has sought to prove that ...