The smallpox epidemic that struck Boston in 1721 was one of the deadliest disease

epidemics to plague colonial America, and marks the first time that mass inoculation was used to

prevent the spread of smallpox in the American Colonies. While controversial at the time, the

use of inoculation during the 1721 Boston Smallpox epidemic proved to be successful, and its

use helped to pave the way for advances in medicine and epidemiology. (The Fight Over

Inoculation). Smallpox is a very ancient disease. The exact source of the disease is unknown.

According to the center for disease control and prevention, smallpox has plagued humanity for

centuries before its eradication was declared by the World Health Assembly. (History of

Smallpox, 2015).

The Boston Outbreak

The 1721 Boston smallpox epidemic is believed to have begun on April 22, 1721 with the

arrival of a ship from the British West Indies in the Boston harbor Several Africans on board the

ship became ill with smallpox. (Wisecup, 2011). Even though officials in the city of Boston

quickly instituted a quarantine for the infected crew members of the ship, the disease

nevertheless continued to spread throughout the city. (Wisecup, 2011). During the year that the

epidemic plagued Boston, it is estimated that nearly 6000 individuals fell ill with the disease, and

it claimed the lives of an estimated 800 people out of the total Boston population of 11,000 at the

time. (The Fight Over Inoculation). The fact that this particular epidemic led to the deaths of so

many Bostonians; many claimed that the epidemic was gods punishment for the colonists for

breaking their covenant with him. (Burton, 2001). As the epidemic worsened, a puritan

minister and influential member of the community named Cotton Mathers began to experiment

with inoculation after reading about its use by people on the continent of Africa. (Burton, 2001).

One of these individuals was Cotton Mathers; who despite not being a medical doctor, was an
influential puritan minister who read about inoculation of smallpox by people in Africa, and

became one of the biggest supporters for inoculation. (Frankenburg, 2017). Using his influence

and prominence he soon gathered around ten medical doctors to begin inoculating smallpox

victims. (Frankenburg, 2017). Despite inoculation being used by humans for centuries, the

practice was not routinely used by Europeans in the new world, and quickly sparked controversy

amongst many in the city of Boston.

Cotton Mather learned about inoculation when he was gifted a slave by his parishioners

in 1706. (Blake, 1952). When he asked the slave about whether or not he ever had smallpox, he

learned about inoculation which was carried out by African natives. (Blake, 1952). Sometime

around 1716, Cotton received a compy of Timonius's communication in the Philosophical

Transactions. (Blake, 1952). He also began to learn more about the practice of inoculation after

speaking with other enslaved individuals as well as slave traders from Guinea. (Blake, 1952). It

is also documented that sometime prior to July of 1716, Cotton received a copy of a letter to Dr.

Woodward. That corroborated the account and questioned why innoculation was never tried in

England. (Blake, 1952). In the letter he wrote "For my own part "if I should live to see the Small-

Pox again enter into our City, I would immediately procure a Consult of our Physicians, to

Introduce a Practice, which may be of so a very happy a tendency. Taking all of this into

consideration, Mathers debated whether or not to introduce inoculation in Boston at least five

years prior to the epidemic that plagued Boston between 1721 and 1722.

So as the pandemic continued to worsen, Mathers reached out to many in the medical

community. (The Fight Over Inoculation). Most of the physicians whom he contacted were

extremely hostile to the idea of inoculation, and even the sole physician in Boston to possess an

actual medical degree was at head of the anti-inoculation movement. However, one physician
named Zabdiel Boylston, supported the call by Mathers for inoculation. The fact that so many in

the medical community disagreed with Mathers about inoculation only increased the

controversy of such methods of preventing disease.

The arguments against inoculation varied drastically, ranging from religious

disagreement to scientific uncertainty. (The Fight Over Inoculation). Even though much of the

controversy surrounding its use was because of religious disagreement and the belief that

inoculation violated divine law, by forcing harm onto innocent people, as well as attempting to

counter gods will, most of the arguments against inoculation stemmed from the belief that the

claims made by Mather were not based on scientific grounds, but rather folklore. (The Fight

Over Inoculation). However, despite the opposition to inoculation, Mathers still decided to

carry out his plan. He considered It his Christian duty to tell others about inoculation and

because he worried about his children, he decided to inoculate them. (Blake, 1952). He soon

after began sending letters to physicians advocating for the use of innoculation, but to no avail.

(Blake, 1952). However, the physician named Zabdiel Boylston supported him and first

inoculated his son as well as two of his slaves. Despite this, many individuals in Boston were

still skeptical. Government officials began to argue that inoculation did not prevent the disease,

and instead was responsible for increased transmission, and also argued that it was not safe to do

so since it does carry a very small chance of death from being infected with a live disease.

(Blake, 1952).

In the aftermath of the 1721 Boston Smallpox epidemic, the work of Cotton Mathers and

those who supported his efforts eventually paved the way for increased understanding of disease

transmission and prevention. Finally, in 1796. British medical doctor Edward Jenner discovered

the first vaccine for Smallpox. (About Edward Jenner). Despite the success of the vaccine, many
were still skeptical; whether for religious, moral or personal reasons. (About Edward Jenner).

Jenners discovery took a while to actually catch on and like Cotton Mathers and many who

discover new breakthroughs in science and medicine, many were skeptical. However, one thing

is for sure; Jenners discovery led to a better understanding of disease and disease prevention.

Following centuries of smallpox affecting human populations, the disease was finally eradicated

in 1981 after decades of international cooperation to combatting and vaccinating individuals

against what was once one of the deadliest diseases to ever affect humans.
 Works Cited
The Fight Over Inoculation During the 1721 Boston Smallpox Epidemic. Science in the News,

Harvard University, 1 Jan. 2015, sitn.hms.harvard.edu/flash/special-edition-on-

infectious-disease/2014/the-fight-over-inoculation-during-the-1721-boston-smallpox-

epidemic/.

History of Smallpox. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control

and Prevention, 30 Aug. 2016, www.cdc.gov/smallpox/history/history.html.

Frankenburg, Frances Rachel. Human Medical Experimentation: From Smallpox Vaccines to

Secret Government Programs. Greenwood, 2017. EBSCOhost,

ccbcmd.idm.oclc.org/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=

nlebk&AN=1452752&site=ehost-live&scope=site.

Burton, John D. The Awful Judgements of God upon the Land: Smallpox in Colonial

Cambridge, Massachusetts. The New England Quarterly, vol. 74, no. 3, 2001, pp. 495

506. JSTOR, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/3185429.

Wisecup, Kelly. "African Medical Knowledge, the Plain Style, and Satire in the 1721 Boston

Inoculation Controversy." Early American Literature, vol. 46, no. 1, Mar. 2011, p. 25.

EBSCOhost,ccbcmd.idm.oclc.org/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direc

t=true&db=f5h&AN=58497228&site=eds-live&scope=site.

Blake, John B. The Inoculation Controversy in Boston: 1721-1722. The New England

Quarterly, vol. 25, no. 4, 1952, pp. 489506. JSTOR, JSTOR,

www.jstor.org/stable/362582.
About Edward Jenner. Edward Jenner - Jenner Institute,

www.jenner.ac.uk/edward-jenner.