Gleanings from 1760’s 'Great Small Pox Epidemic' in Charleston

American Thinker ^ | 04/24/2021 | Wolf Howling

[SeekAndFind]

In 1760, Charleston, in what is now South Carolina, faced what was to become known as the Great Small Pox Epidemic. In a city of 8,000 people, most of whom had no immunity, smallpox spread during the early months of 1760. The Charlestonians' response was superior to the modern world's response to COVID.

Most importantly, Charlestonians did not overreact, although smallpox posed a more serious threat than COVID. While COVID, on average, kills 2% of those who are infected, with the elderly and people with comorbidities at the greatest risk, smallpox killed 33% of those infected, regardless of age or underlying health.

Like modern society, Charleston resorted to quarantine as a primary response to the epidemic. However, Charleston quarantined only the sick and those living in the same house as those with smallpox. The government did not impose any restrictions on anyone else, even though smallpox was highly contagious.

In 1760, Charleston's government did not shut down any business; order any special precautions among the healthy; or force the end of commerce, including port traffic in one of the busiest ports in the colonies. Healthy people were left to limit their activities as they saw fit without government oversight. Wholly unlike modern society, Big Brother did not intervene.

Seventeen sixty was 38 years before the first true vaccine was introduced to medicine — which, ironically, was Edward Jenner's smallpox vaccine, derived from cowpox. Modern vaccinations do not introduce the active disease into the body; instead, the material administered tricks our body into producing antibodies without the direct risk of the disease itself. In 1760, though, the only known way to gain antibodies against smallpox was to catch the disease.

[Mogger]

During the French and Indian War, there was a smallpox outbreak in Quebec, among our troops.

There is a mass grave with over 3,000 of them in it.

[Eska]

I saw the family bible once and was surprised to see how many of my own teenage ancestors died growing up of consumption (TB). This was in the 1700s. They had 15 kids back then but every third kid died as a teenager.

They all had 2 wives at the same time, imagine that. I can barely get on with one. Both families were listed in the bible too.

[oh8eleven]

was surprised to see how many of my own teenage ancestors died growing up of consumption (TB)

I recently did a genealogy project going back 3-4 generations and was stunned to find so many deaths from TB.
That and alcoholism which destroyed their kidneys, livers, etc.
Given they all lived in NYC; in horrenous living conditions; and they were of Irish descent, I should have known.

[Brian Griffin]

The British spread smallpox through the South during the Revolutionary War, killing off many slaves.

[Brian Griffin]

I believe I read that Indians were given smallpox infected blankets during colonial times.

[Brian Griffin]

“Charlestonians did not overreact”

People were pretty helpless against disease back then, and they knew it.

[Brian Griffin]

“Smallpox spreads from contact with infected persons. Generally, direct and fairly prolonged face-to-face contact is required to spread smallpox from one person to another.

“Smallpox also can be spread through direct contact with infected bodily fluids or contaminated objects such as bedding or clothing.”

https://health.ny.gov/diseases/communicable/smallpox/fact_sheet#:~:text=Smallpox%20spreads%20from%20contact%20with,such%20as%20bedding%20or%20clothing.

Covid is generally spread through the air and not by contact.

[piasa]

There was a proposal to do that by a British officer but nothing came of it.

There was, however, an epidemic of smallpox among Indians following a period of raids and looting of white settlements already afflicted by smallpox, including a situation where the French-Indian side captured a British fort where smallpox had broken out, and the natives stole everything that wasn’t nailed down from the room where smallpox patients had been quarantined. Of course in this case the infection was not intentional it was pure ignorance.

There was another case some time after the Louisiana purchase where an outbreak occurred among the friendly Mandan Indians that was alleged by a wannabe Indian nutty professor named Ward Churchill to be deliberate- from trading infected blankets from a steamboat, but the allegations did not hold up to scrutiny; the outbreak was not intentional.

[Bonemaker]

“During the French and Indian War, there was a smallpox outbreak in Quebec, among our troops.”

The Indians must have given our troops smallpox blankets.😎

[DiogenesLamp]

I believe I read that Indians were given smallpox infected blankets during colonial times.

You did read that. Liberals have been spreading that propaganda for the last 50 years. Some years ago I read a great article that explained that this was a false claim. It not only took issue with the claimed source material for this accusation, it pointed out that the germ theory of disease did not come about until the latter 1880s. In the 1760s, nobody knew anything about viruses or bacteria. They thought disease were caused by "Influenza ad Astra" (influence of the stars) or "Malaria". (Mal-Aria meaning "bad air")

They literally had no knowledge of germs or disinfectant or sanitation.

[mjp]

How George Washington handled smallpox
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/george-washington-beat-smallpox-epidemic-with-controversial-inoculations