ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the historical relationship between humans and mosquitoes in eastern North America in the seventeenth through nineteenth centuries. Colonization, settlement and the establishment of plantation agriculture transformed the environment allowing mosquitoes to thrive in this new, domesticated landscape. By surveying the growth of Aedes and Anopheles habitats in relation to human settlement and land use, this chapter historicizes the development of mosquito-rich landscapes. As a result of the twin newcomers of mosquito and human, from both Europe and Africa, an endemic fever zone emerged in North America. The growth of mosquito populations here enabled the development of endemic malaria and seasonal yellow fever epidemics. By analyzing the ways that humans promoted the growth of mosquito populations and created new disease environments, it may be possible to gain insights into how humans can change their land-use practices to repel rather than support mosquitoes.
