Think As Historian: THINK AS A HISTORIAN: CONNECT WORLD WAR I AND THE fLU EPIDEMIC

Although they occupy different realms—one geopolitical and one medical—World War I and the flu epidemic of 1918 were closely related. What connections can you find between the two developments? Think about these factors as you try to answer that question:

• how the pathogen originated and mutated

• the conditions in which the pathogen might thrive

• the methods by which the pathogen might spread You can test your reasoning about the connections between the war and the flu by exploring a simulator developed for the World War I Centenary by scholars at Oxford University. The simulator allows you to “change history” and explore “what if” scenarios. For example, how many people would have died from the 1918 flu if there had been no war?

Explain how World War I relates to the flu epidemic of 1918–1919. Locate the simulator by searching online for “The ‘Spanish’ Influenza pandemic and its relation to World War I.”