We are all familiar with war using nuclear bombs, missiles, and sword. Nevertheless, some of the deadliest attacks in history were through none other than bioterrorism. Bioterrorism is the deliberate release of Biological agents. “These agents are bacteria, viruses, insects, fungi, and/or toxins, and may be in a naturally occurring or a human-modified form, in much the same way as in biological warfare” (Wikipedia). Our world has experienced many deadly epidemics. Just three years ago in 2019, we were hit with a worldwide pandemic. “A cluster of pneumonia of unknown origin was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019” (National Library of Medicine). Throughout history, diseases have been a crucial part of colonization and war, especially in the Eastern Hemisphere. In fact, we are living here today on stolen land because of one of the world’s most infamous diseases; Smallpox. Old world colonizers arrived in America with swords and a longing for power, but when they ultimately succeeded in their mission; they had no idea how they did it.

History of Smallpox

According to National Geographic, smallpox is thought to have originated in India or Egypt at least 3,000 years ago. Only a few written reports dating from about 500 CE to 1000 CE are considered reliable historical descriptions of smallpox. The earliest evidence of smallpox can be found in ancient Egyptian mummies. Other early cases come from the Egyptian Pharaoh Ramses V, who died in 1157 B.C. The preservation of his skin still shows Smallpox related scars. (Image: Pharaoh Ramses V mummified head)

Smallpox made its way through Africa, into Europe and Asia, and eventually spread around the world. In the old world, Europe and Asia frequently traded all sorts of goods such as silk, spices, and aromatic products. The trading and handling of these products spread diseases from Asia and Africa to Europe. One of the main trading routes was the Silk Road. The Silk Road was a network of trade routes connecting China and the Far East with the Middle East and Europe. The main route was “a caravan track stretched west along the Great Wall of China, across the Pamirs, through Afghanistan, and into the Levant and Anatolia.” (Encyclopedia Britannica) 

As continents interacted, they shared not only their precious commodities, but also their illnesses. As soon as more trading became an opportunity, European sailors sought out to get anything they could. A trader’s original goal would be to sail to India and trade with those that had already gained immunity to such diseases. The India they found however, had had no previous exposure to Smallpox or any common old world diseases.

Native American susceptibility  

Native American life was very isolated and interaction with communities other than their own was limited. Smallpox among Native Americans caused more devastation than that of the black death in 14th century Europe. According to PBS, Before the colonization of North America, our ancestors were healthy and strong. 

They led active lives and subsisted on a diet of corn, beans, squash, berries, greens, wild rice, fruits, nuts, and seeds. These foods provided complete and balanced nutrition specifically fitted for people in their region. 

Europeans however, lived very differently. As mentioned by PBS: “For thousands of years, the people of Eurasia lived in close proximity to the largest variety of domesticated mammals in the world.” These animals eventually spread new diseases across species, until finally creating a deadly disease. Also mentioned by PBS: “They farmed only one large mammal – the llama – and even this was geographically isolated. The llama was never kept indoors, it wasn't milked and only occasionally eaten – so the people of the New World were not troubled by cross-species viral infection.”  (Image: Native Americans with Llamas)

Pre-colonization, Native Americans  typically had no major health issues and certainly would not have died at the rates that they did when colonizers arrived. Because of the limited size of the population and their lack of interactions with other communities, there was less transmission of diseases within tribes/nations. 

European settlers arrived in America desperate for money and trade. Europeans gained many new resources that make up a big part of what we have today. They found tobacco, staple crops, and new metals. History repeated itself once again, but this time in a new world. These tradings were very beneficial to Europeans, but left Native Americans with close to nothing. They gave up their land and precious materials in welcoming, only for Europeans to destroy their population. 

Arrival of Smallpox in the New World

It is difficult to trace back how Smallpox originally spread, but there are a few theories. Many believe that it arrived sometime between 1519 and 1520, carried by an African slave onboard a spanish ship sailing from Cuba. Others believe that it was given to them in a blanket. There are records of traders buying new blankets “to replace in kind those which were taken from people in the hospital to convey the smallpox to the Indians”. Although there may be records of people deliberately attempting to spread smallpox, the disease was a consequence that came with trading. After all, an epidemic like this  was not unexpected, the Europeans got smallpox in the same way. (Image: Native Americans with Smallpox after receiving infected blanket)

Smallpox ultimately began the colonization of Native Americans with no intention of doing so. European settlers did many awful and unimaginable things for power, but they finally succeeded in their goals by natural methods. In the end, Smallpox was spread to the Native Americans in just the same way that it spread throughout the Eastern Hemisphere.

Work Cited

Nunn, Nathan and Qian, Nancy. “The Columbian Exchange: A History of Disease, Food, and Ideas” Harvard, Spring 2010, tinyurl.com/3ej88mrp

Martin, Debra and Goodman, Alan. “Health conditions before Columbus: paleopathology of native North Americans” National Library of Medicine, Jan. 2008, nlm.nih.gov

Editors of PBS. “The story of Smallpox - and other deadly Eurasian germs.” Lion Television, 2005, pbs.org/gunsgermssteel/variables/smallpox.html

Kiger, Patrick. “Did Colonists Give Blankets to Native Americans as Biological Warfare?” History, 25 Nov. 2019, history.com/news/colonists-native-americans-smallpox

Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. “Native American Disease and Epidemics” Wikipedia, 16 Nov. 2022, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Native_American_disease_and_epidemics

Centers for Disease Control and Protection. “How does Smallpox Spread?” U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 7 Jun. 2016,  cdc.gov/smallpox/transmission/index

Riedel, Stefan. “Edward Jenner and the history of smallpox and vaccination” National Library of Medicine, Jan. 2005, ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles

Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. “History of smallpox” Wikipedia, 10 Nov. 2022, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_smallpox

Centers for Disease Control and Protection. “History of Smallpox” U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 20 Feb. 2021, cdc.gov/smallpox/history/history.html

Margaritoff, Marco. “The Devastating History Of Diseases That The Pilgrims Brought To America” all that’s interesting, 24 Nov.  2021, allthatsinteresting.com/pilgrim