Syphilis
Why is Syphilis sometimes referred to as the "freedom disease"?
Supposedly it was originally called the French disease. This is what I have read. Now people are referring to Syphilis as the freedom disease to say it is an American disease.
A poet in the 1500s wrote a poem about Syphilis calling it the French disease. People called it the French disease because sailors and soldiers would have sex with prostitutes when visiting other countries and the disease would spread.
It may be called the freedom disease by some because there is a theory that Columbus and Martin Alonso Pinzon brought the disease back after visiting "the New World".
Syphilis may have spread through Europe before Columbus. Columbus brought syphilis to Europe -- or did he? A recent study now indicates that Europeans could already have been infected with this sexually transmitted disease before the 15th century. In addition, researchers have discovered a hitherto unknown pathogen causing a related disease. The predecessor of syphilis and its related diseases could be over 2,500 years old. Source 4h.