Great Pox (The Kalmar Union)

The Great Pox, or Venus' Pox, Syphillis is a sexually transmitted disease originating from Leifia/Tawantinland that caused massive upheaval in medieval Europe as well as continuing to be a menace to modern health.

It was first recorded in 1281 during the Brabant-Luxembourg War. An Icelandic mercenary unit, who had campaigned for Vinland in Leifia the previous summer, had their camp raided and camp followers (who included many native Leifians and Tawantinlanders) defiled by a German mercenary company attached to the Brabant army. From there the infection became embedded within the armies and outbreaks generally followed in their wake. Due to this historic link it is often referred to as the 'Icelandic Disease' in Luxembourg and the Empire. It is thought that the different climate and density of population in Europe compared to Tawantinland caused the disease to mutate quickly, becoming horrifically fatal.

During its first outbreak in the 1280s the disease was devastating. The original form of the disease caused pustules spreading across the body, leading to flesh falling away from faces and was fatal within months. Spreading quickly through the cities of the Low Countries and North Italy it severely distabilised their growth. Many wealthier parts of society left the supposedly unhealthy cities for rural areas leading to a collapsing economy. As the economies of the Netherlands and Rhineland slowed and faltered it allowed Anglia to tighten its grip along the coast whilst helping the various Swiss territories to break free of outside interference. The blame that fell on the few remaining Cathar communities in Aragon's nominal territory led to their final destruction and Aragon confiscating lands from the counts of Toulouse, building their crown lands north of the Pyrenees. The death of several high ranking members of the Hapsburg family is believed to have severely hampered the dynasty's and Austria's fortunes. In the Baltic the association the disease had with sailors led to tight state restrictions on shipping, killing off the trading towns as independent entities.

After the initial outbreak a less destructive form took over and it became largely non-fatal (at least to adults) but endemic within the European population. However it did have repercussions further afield. The mass exodus out of Baghdad in 1287 left the city so poor that even 80 years later the Mongols apparently did not think it worth capturing and the smallish force sent against it was defeated by the Caliphate.

While the Black Death of the 1350s was much more violent in its death toll the initial outbreak of the Great Pox is believed to have killed some 2 million people.

It is now known to be caused by a bacteria but a cure is still out of reach.