Tag Archives: smallpox

Patuxet (Plymouth) 400 years on: “Bones and skulls” — An epidemic made the Pilgrims’ settlement possible

In the late fall of 1620, the 102 men, women, and child passengers aboard for the Mayflower found themselves behind schedule and seriously off course. They were supposed to be in Virginia Colony (the colony that famously kidnapped Pocahontas), which … Continue reading

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How Andrew Jackson used the smallpox vaccine against Native Americans: A cautionary tale of politics and disease

In 1832, smallpox raged along the Mississippi River. After years of bitter debate, the Indian Removal Act had just been signed by President Andrew Jackson. A sharply divided white nation prepared for widespread Indian removal to west of the river; … Continue reading

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The strange truth about smallpox and Native Americans

Did Europeans deliberately give smallpox-infected blankets to Native Americans? Absolutely. There is one proven case and many other suspicious ones. But the largest smallpox outbreak, the one that killed possibly hundreds of thousands of Natives, started during the Revolutionary War. … Continue reading

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On this date… June 13, 1717… New York

On this date in 1717, the Six Nations of the Haudenosaunee (or Iroquois) Confederacy were conducting an investigation into the cause of a small pox epidemic.  They had sent investigators as far as Maryland and Virginia.  They met with the … Continue reading

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Selective Memories from Syria to Fort Pitt

President Obama is right to voice outrage at the use of chemical weapons in Syria.  While the concept of rules in warfare is a bit ironic, maintaining an international consensus against the use of these weapons, which kill civilians so … Continue reading

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