1 00:00:02,120 --> 00:00:05,600 Speaker 1: You're listening to American Shadows, a production of I Heart 2 00:00:05,720 --> 00:00:16,520 Speaker 1: Radio and Grim and Mild from Aaron Minky. The crowd 3 00:00:16,640 --> 00:00:18,800 Speaker 1: jeered and laughed at the old woman as she took 4 00:00:18,840 --> 00:00:22,599 Speaker 1: the stand in the Salem courtroom. She tried to please them, 5 00:00:22,760 --> 00:00:26,119 Speaker 1: her life depended on it, after all. Speaking in her 6 00:00:26,200 --> 00:00:31,480 Speaker 1: native tongue, Gaelic and goody, Glover recited the Lord's Prayer perfectly. 7 00:00:32,520 --> 00:00:36,360 Speaker 1: Her accuser, a Puritan minister named Cotton Mather, slammed his 8 00:00:36,440 --> 00:00:40,560 Speaker 1: fist down on the courtroom stand. Gaelic was the devil's tongue, 9 00:00:40,640 --> 00:00:44,080 Speaker 1: he told the courtroom. He turned to Glover and demanded 10 00:00:44,080 --> 00:00:47,479 Speaker 1: that she try again. She knew the odds were against 11 00:00:47,520 --> 00:00:50,760 Speaker 1: her just by being an Irish immigrant to the English 12 00:00:50,800 --> 00:00:54,680 Speaker 1: bread colonists. The Irish were inferior, a bunch of know nothings. 13 00:00:55,440 --> 00:00:59,640 Speaker 1: That wasn't all, though, being an elderly Catholic woman made 14 00:00:59,640 --> 00:01:03,720 Speaker 1: them just like her even more. Glover searched the crowd 15 00:01:03,880 --> 00:01:07,440 Speaker 1: for a shred of empathy. Finding none, she recited the 16 00:01:07,440 --> 00:01:12,160 Speaker 1: prayer again, this time in perfect Latin. Once more, Mather 17 00:01:12,400 --> 00:01:16,280 Speaker 1: denounced her. If she couldn't speak the prayer in perfect English, 18 00:01:16,400 --> 00:01:19,080 Speaker 1: he stated to the crowd that it proved without a 19 00:01:19,120 --> 00:01:22,679 Speaker 1: doubt that she was a witch. Her innocence or guilt 20 00:01:22,800 --> 00:01:25,440 Speaker 1: rested on her ability to speak a language that she 21 00:01:25,520 --> 00:01:29,160 Speaker 1: wasn't very good at. Her testimony hadn't been good enough. 22 00:01:29,760 --> 00:01:32,440 Speaker 1: She had told the truth, but the children had lied. 23 00:01:33,640 --> 00:01:35,959 Speaker 1: It had all started with the Goodwinds, one of the 24 00:01:36,000 --> 00:01:38,760 Speaker 1: families she earned a meager living from as a laundress. 25 00:01:39,520 --> 00:01:42,000 Speaker 1: Glover had just put fresh linens on the line to 26 00:01:42,080 --> 00:01:45,840 Speaker 1: dry when Martha, the family's eldest child, ripped the sheets 27 00:01:45,880 --> 00:01:49,160 Speaker 1: from the clothes line, dirtying them. That wasn't what Mather 28 00:01:49,360 --> 00:01:52,560 Speaker 1: called the incident, though he had said the child had 29 00:01:52,560 --> 00:01:56,160 Speaker 1: been tempted by the devil. Angry, Blover had fallen back 30 00:01:56,160 --> 00:01:59,880 Speaker 1: on her native language, telling the spoiled girl off it's 31 00:02:00,080 --> 00:02:04,040 Speaker 1: never pleasant being caught. After the scolding, the girl ran 32 00:02:04,080 --> 00:02:06,320 Speaker 1: off to tell her parents that the old woman had 33 00:02:06,400 --> 00:02:10,760 Speaker 1: cursed her for nothing more than a harmless prank. Soon after, 34 00:02:11,080 --> 00:02:15,960 Speaker 1: Martha began having fits what Mather described as diseases of astonishment. 35 00:02:16,760 --> 00:02:20,640 Speaker 1: Before long, four other Goodwin children suffered the same affliction 36 00:02:20,760 --> 00:02:24,440 Speaker 1: as their older sister. They complained that their eyes, tongue, 37 00:02:24,440 --> 00:02:28,520 Speaker 1: and teeth hurt. They cried out, swearing Glover was breaking 38 00:02:28,560 --> 00:02:31,960 Speaker 1: their necks, legs, feet and toes. Of course, when their 39 00:02:31,960 --> 00:02:35,079 Speaker 1: parents examined them, the children claimed the witch delighted in 40 00:02:35,200 --> 00:02:38,080 Speaker 1: healing them and then breaking their bones over and over. 41 00:02:39,240 --> 00:02:42,720 Speaker 1: The Goodwins summoned a doctor. Finding nothing, he agreed the 42 00:02:42,760 --> 00:02:47,919 Speaker 1: cause must be witchcraft. Witnesses quickly came forward to did 43 00:02:47,960 --> 00:02:51,480 Speaker 1: seeing Glover curse the children with their own eyes. Mother 44 00:02:51,680 --> 00:02:54,440 Speaker 1: being the local minister, had been brought in to investigate, 45 00:02:54,760 --> 00:02:59,320 Speaker 1: and he quickly declared the old woman a witch. Glover 46 00:02:59,440 --> 00:03:03,519 Speaker 1: was promptly arrested and interrogated. Each time she told the truth, 47 00:03:03,720 --> 00:03:07,200 Speaker 1: they insisted she was lying. Members of the community told 48 00:03:07,240 --> 00:03:11,079 Speaker 1: investigators they always knew something was different about her. They 49 00:03:11,160 --> 00:03:14,280 Speaker 1: didn't like her religious beliefs, nor did they like her broke. 50 00:03:15,280 --> 00:03:18,400 Speaker 1: They said she was confrontational and surly, but all she 51 00:03:18,440 --> 00:03:22,480 Speaker 1: had done was speak normally. They had mistaken her enthusiasm 52 00:03:22,560 --> 00:03:25,720 Speaker 1: and the harshness of the Gaelic language as anger. The 53 00:03:25,800 --> 00:03:29,880 Speaker 1: Catholic saints she worshiped were seen as demons. The people 54 00:03:29,880 --> 00:03:33,280 Speaker 1: in the courtroom, many dressed in their Sunday best, watched 55 00:03:33,280 --> 00:03:36,440 Speaker 1: as mother shouted at Glover, demanding that she recite the 56 00:03:36,480 --> 00:03:40,840 Speaker 1: Lord's Prayer in English. She spoke slowly, doing her best. 57 00:03:41,440 --> 00:03:44,760 Speaker 1: She almost made it to the end. For stuttering, the 58 00:03:44,800 --> 00:03:48,840 Speaker 1: crowd gasped, and, knowing that her moment of hesitation was 59 00:03:48,880 --> 00:03:51,480 Speaker 1: the final proof in a verdict that had already made 60 00:03:51,920 --> 00:03:56,280 Speaker 1: Glover Fell silent, they sentenced her to death by hanging, 61 00:03:57,120 --> 00:04:02,120 Speaker 1: and on November six, a violent crowd gathered to watch. 62 00:04:02,800 --> 00:04:06,320 Speaker 1: They yelled and threw things at her. The executor demanded 63 00:04:06,360 --> 00:04:09,360 Speaker 1: she tell them the names of other witches. Unable to 64 00:04:09,400 --> 00:04:14,920 Speaker 1: do so, they hanged her. Pleased that justice had been served, 65 00:04:15,480 --> 00:04:18,680 Speaker 1: Mother told the crowd that evil came in unseen threats 66 00:04:18,720 --> 00:04:22,360 Speaker 1: against God, and anyone who attempted to thwart God's will, 67 00:04:22,600 --> 00:04:25,640 Speaker 1: no matter what the circumstances, was doing the devil's work. 68 00:04:27,320 --> 00:04:29,720 Speaker 1: Little did he know, however, that would soon be at 69 00:04:29,720 --> 00:04:32,359 Speaker 1: the center of a controversy that would divide not only 70 00:04:32,400 --> 00:04:36,800 Speaker 1: Boston but the colonies themselves. It would challenge not just religion, 71 00:04:36,960 --> 00:04:41,240 Speaker 1: but societal beliefs, and some would even say that Mother's 72 00:04:41,279 --> 00:04:47,720 Speaker 1: actions were on par with witchcraft itself. I'm Lauren Vogelbaum. 73 00:04:47,760 --> 00:04:55,520 Speaker 1: Welcome to American Shadows. At first, the symptoms were nothing 74 00:04:55,520 --> 00:04:58,240 Speaker 1: more than a call, maybe a sneeze now and then 75 00:04:59,160 --> 00:05:03,599 Speaker 1: within two weeks, though people complained they just didn't feel right. 76 00:05:04,279 --> 00:05:07,720 Speaker 1: Headaches and low fever came next, followed by back aches. 77 00:05:08,640 --> 00:05:13,360 Speaker 1: Then lesions in the nose and mouth began to form, 78 00:05:13,400 --> 00:05:18,159 Speaker 1: almost imperceptibly. The telltale rash began next, forming on the 79 00:05:18,200 --> 00:05:21,760 Speaker 1: face first, then spreading to the arms, hands, and down 80 00:05:21,800 --> 00:05:25,599 Speaker 1: the body. Smallpox was the most contagious at this point, 81 00:05:26,200 --> 00:05:29,640 Speaker 1: staying infectious until the scabs formed about nine days later. 82 00:05:30,720 --> 00:05:34,440 Speaker 1: Those inflicted who survived to this point were lucky. Not 83 00:05:34,560 --> 00:05:37,000 Speaker 1: only had they beaten a mortality rate of thirty to six, 84 00:05:37,600 --> 00:05:41,000 Speaker 1: depending on the strain, but they developed a lifetime immunity 85 00:05:41,200 --> 00:05:44,920 Speaker 1: from ever catching it again. There was a price, though. 86 00:05:45,480 --> 00:05:50,240 Speaker 1: The disease left marks, deep pitted scars, often prominent on 87 00:05:50,279 --> 00:05:54,200 Speaker 1: the face. Though it was epidemic throughout Europe in the 88 00:05:54,240 --> 00:05:59,200 Speaker 1: seventeenth century, smallpox didn't exist in the Americas until colonists 89 00:05:59,200 --> 00:06:03,200 Speaker 1: brought it with them, and without any immunity, it swept 90 00:06:03,240 --> 00:06:07,520 Speaker 1: through the indigenous peoples. In sixteen thirty four, a colonist 91 00:06:07,600 --> 00:06:10,200 Speaker 1: noted the mass death in a journal in great detail. 92 00:06:11,440 --> 00:06:14,320 Speaker 1: The Native Americans became so ill in great numbers, and 93 00:06:14,400 --> 00:06:17,440 Speaker 1: so quickly that entire tribes and families were unable to 94 00:06:17,440 --> 00:06:20,680 Speaker 1: care for each other. He wrote, there were few left 95 00:06:20,720 --> 00:06:23,200 Speaker 1: to bring water or food to the others, nor cover 96 00:06:23,240 --> 00:06:26,600 Speaker 1: them with furs for warmth. They crawled from their dwellings 97 00:06:26,600 --> 00:06:29,719 Speaker 1: for food and water, and often died while trying to return. 98 00:06:31,480 --> 00:06:35,320 Speaker 1: He finished not by praying for the Native americans lives, 99 00:06:35,320 --> 00:06:39,400 Speaker 1: but by thanking God that the virus hadn't afflicted the English. 100 00:06:39,839 --> 00:06:43,240 Speaker 1: Smallpox would eventually contribute to the deaths of around half 101 00:06:43,440 --> 00:06:49,240 Speaker 1: of Native American populations. Most of the new colonists were Puritans, 102 00:06:49,279 --> 00:06:52,320 Speaker 1: who have not only believed in predestination, but they firmly 103 00:06:52,360 --> 00:06:57,000 Speaker 1: believed they were God's chosen. The decimation of the indigenous peoples, 104 00:06:57,160 --> 00:07:00,440 Speaker 1: who they called savages, was Heaven's way of herging the 105 00:07:00,560 --> 00:07:03,680 Speaker 1: land in favor of the new settlers. They believed they 106 00:07:03,680 --> 00:07:07,480 Speaker 1: were meant to take over the land, But the colonist's 107 00:07:07,560 --> 00:07:11,480 Speaker 1: turn came soon enough. Like the Native Americans, the colonists 108 00:07:11,640 --> 00:07:16,280 Speaker 1: children and their descendants were not immune to smallpox. Before long, 109 00:07:16,560 --> 00:07:21,640 Speaker 1: epidemics rolled from generation to generation. From sixteen seventy seven 110 00:07:21,680 --> 00:07:25,440 Speaker 1: to sixteen seventy eight, infected passengers aboard an English ship 111 00:07:25,560 --> 00:07:29,440 Speaker 1: caused an epidemic to spread throughout Boston, but the worst 112 00:07:29,520 --> 00:07:33,960 Speaker 1: outbreak in Boston didn't happen until sixteen ninety seven. One 113 00:07:34,040 --> 00:07:38,640 Speaker 1: out of every seven citizens died. So common with smallpox 114 00:07:38,720 --> 00:07:42,360 Speaker 1: that by seventeen o one the city established pest houses 115 00:07:42,520 --> 00:07:46,280 Speaker 1: where they infected were taken. While you might think these 116 00:07:46,280 --> 00:07:49,680 Speaker 1: were set up as many hospitals, they were little more 117 00:07:49,720 --> 00:07:52,200 Speaker 1: than a place to dump the sick until they either 118 00:07:52,280 --> 00:07:57,720 Speaker 1: died or miraculously survived. To prevent new outbreaks, arriving ships 119 00:07:57,760 --> 00:08:01,400 Speaker 1: were searched. If a single case of smallpox was discovered, 120 00:08:01,680 --> 00:08:04,720 Speaker 1: the ship and the entire crew had to quarantine aboard. 121 00:08:05,760 --> 00:08:08,400 Speaker 1: Those aboard who weren't sick were now trapped with those 122 00:08:08,400 --> 00:08:11,240 Speaker 1: who were. And I'm sure you can guess how that 123 00:08:11,320 --> 00:08:15,440 Speaker 1: tended to play out. From seventeen o two until seventeen 124 00:08:15,480 --> 00:08:19,120 Speaker 1: o three, casualties were so high that the city invoked 125 00:08:19,160 --> 00:08:23,520 Speaker 1: new laws. Previously, the town bell rang for seven minutes 126 00:08:23,720 --> 00:08:27,760 Speaker 1: for each death. Now, to keep the noise and interruptions down, 127 00:08:28,200 --> 00:08:32,120 Speaker 1: the bell sounded only once. The contagious nature of the 128 00:08:32,120 --> 00:08:35,320 Speaker 1: disease also required families to bring the deceased to the 129 00:08:35,360 --> 00:08:39,720 Speaker 1: burial ground within an hour of death. Corpses you see, 130 00:08:39,840 --> 00:08:43,920 Speaker 1: could still spread the virus to the living. With so 131 00:08:44,080 --> 00:08:48,080 Speaker 1: many dying, often multiple people in the same household, the 132 00:08:48,120 --> 00:08:53,360 Speaker 1: whole community was grieving for the more unscrupulous, though this 133 00:08:53,480 --> 00:08:56,559 Speaker 1: time of morning became the perfect time to take advantage 134 00:08:56,559 --> 00:09:01,520 Speaker 1: of others, overcharging for services or outrights, windling them. The 135 00:09:01,559 --> 00:09:05,079 Speaker 1: practice became so commonplace that the city put select citizens 136 00:09:05,080 --> 00:09:10,760 Speaker 1: in charge of ensuring fair pricing. No family went unscathed 137 00:09:10,760 --> 00:09:14,760 Speaker 1: by smallpox. Cotton Mother wrote in his own journal that 138 00:09:14,840 --> 00:09:17,280 Speaker 1: he had lost count of the number of friends, family, 139 00:09:17,320 --> 00:09:21,400 Speaker 1: and neighbors who died from the disease. In seventeen o two, 140 00:09:21,480 --> 00:09:25,120 Speaker 1: he lost his first wife. The couple had six children, 141 00:09:25,400 --> 00:09:29,440 Speaker 1: and although they survived smallpox, scarlet fever and measles were 142 00:09:29,440 --> 00:09:34,679 Speaker 1: also on the rise. Every Sunday, Mother led his congregation 143 00:09:34,720 --> 00:09:38,400 Speaker 1: in prayer, but no amount of praying stopped the diseases 144 00:09:38,440 --> 00:09:42,000 Speaker 1: from ravaging the city. Their prayers didn't save the four 145 00:09:42,080 --> 00:09:45,400 Speaker 1: hundred and forty one colonists who died, roughly five percent 146 00:09:45,480 --> 00:09:49,960 Speaker 1: of Boston's population. Of course, the newspapers didn't report the 147 00:09:50,000 --> 00:09:55,800 Speaker 1: depths of black or Native Americans. While mandatory quarantines helped, 148 00:09:56,080 --> 00:09:59,600 Speaker 1: Mother felt something else had to be done. As a 149 00:09:59,640 --> 00:10:02,320 Speaker 1: younger man, had briefly considered a life in the medical 150 00:10:02,360 --> 00:10:06,320 Speaker 1: field before becoming a minister, and as it happened, he 151 00:10:06,440 --> 00:10:12,560 Speaker 1: still received publications from London that discussed inoculation. One night, 152 00:10:12,880 --> 00:10:16,640 Speaker 1: Mather openly vented his frustration to an enslaved man in 153 00:10:16,679 --> 00:10:20,280 Speaker 1: his service who went by the name Mather had given him, Anisimus. 154 00:10:21,320 --> 00:10:25,440 Speaker 1: Ansimus had been a gift from Mather's congregation in December 155 00:10:25,480 --> 00:10:29,240 Speaker 1: of seventeen o six. It's hard to imagine how anyone 156 00:10:29,320 --> 00:10:33,160 Speaker 1: could gift another human being, but these were also the 157 00:10:33,200 --> 00:10:36,679 Speaker 1: same people who believed God's will had killed Native Americans 158 00:10:36,760 --> 00:10:40,720 Speaker 1: so that they themselves could prosper. Mather was interested in 159 00:10:40,800 --> 00:10:44,560 Speaker 1: converting Anesimus to Christianity, and so he taught Anisimus to 160 00:10:44,679 --> 00:10:48,280 Speaker 1: read and write alongside his own children, and discussions between 161 00:10:48,280 --> 00:10:53,040 Speaker 1: them were not unusual. The concept of immunization, while unheard 162 00:10:53,080 --> 00:10:55,800 Speaker 1: of in the colonies, wasn't new to parts of Europe 163 00:10:55,880 --> 00:10:59,760 Speaker 1: or Africa. Ansimus explained he had no fear of small 164 00:11:00,320 --> 00:11:03,880 Speaker 1: because he had been given a protective operation as a boy. 165 00:11:04,400 --> 00:11:08,760 Speaker 1: Intrigued mother asked how the procedure worked. The method was 166 00:11:08,920 --> 00:11:12,560 Speaker 1: rather crude back then. Essentially fluid was taken from an 167 00:11:12,600 --> 00:11:16,480 Speaker 1: infected person's blisters and transferred into an incision made in 168 00:11:16,520 --> 00:11:21,239 Speaker 1: the arm and leg of an unaffected person. Without understanding 169 00:11:21,280 --> 00:11:25,400 Speaker 1: what we know today about virus load and exposure, Animus's 170 00:11:25,480 --> 00:11:29,040 Speaker 1: explanation was simple. By taking a tiny amount of the 171 00:11:29,120 --> 00:11:32,280 Speaker 1: virus and introducing it into the bloodstream of a healthy person, 172 00:11:32,720 --> 00:11:36,000 Speaker 1: the virus couldn't multiply fast enough before the body's immune 173 00:11:36,000 --> 00:11:39,600 Speaker 1: system killed it. This is what we now know as 174 00:11:39,720 --> 00:11:44,480 Speaker 1: vary elation, a version of an oculation. Sure, the inoculated 175 00:11:44,520 --> 00:11:47,760 Speaker 1: person would get a little sick, but they'd survive, and 176 00:11:48,200 --> 00:11:54,280 Speaker 1: afterward they'd be immune for life. Mother quickly interviewed other 177 00:11:54,400 --> 00:11:57,600 Speaker 1: enslaved people in the city. He learned that the process 178 00:11:57,640 --> 00:12:01,960 Speaker 1: had been widespread and defective in Africa. Before long, he 179 00:12:02,080 --> 00:12:04,960 Speaker 1: formed an idea. If he could find a way to 180 00:12:05,000 --> 00:12:09,080 Speaker 1: inoculate people, the colonists would be free of smallpox for good. 181 00:12:10,960 --> 00:12:14,520 Speaker 1: It was one and a whole new generation was vulnerable 182 00:12:14,600 --> 00:12:18,160 Speaker 1: should a new outbreak hit the city. Little did he 183 00:12:18,520 --> 00:12:23,040 Speaker 1: or anyone else know, it was already there, sitting just 184 00:12:23,280 --> 00:12:27,120 Speaker 1: offshore in a trading ship named the h MS. Sea 185 00:12:27,160 --> 00:12:40,240 Speaker 1: Horse pirates were common in seventy one. To combat them, 186 00:12:40,440 --> 00:12:44,240 Speaker 1: warships like the Sea Horse often escorted smaller merchant ships 187 00:12:44,280 --> 00:12:48,720 Speaker 1: to and from ports. The Sea Horses Captain Thomas Durrell, 188 00:12:48,960 --> 00:12:52,240 Speaker 1: was a seasoned veteran with a reputation for rushing trips. 189 00:12:53,200 --> 00:12:56,600 Speaker 1: In his opinion, the faster they and the merchant ships traveled, 190 00:12:56,679 --> 00:13:00,080 Speaker 1: the better. By the time the ship and crew pulled 191 00:13:00,080 --> 00:13:03,800 Speaker 1: into Boston Harbor, newspapers had reported that Europe at large 192 00:13:03,800 --> 00:13:06,079 Speaker 1: and the London in particular, were in the midst of 193 00:13:06,080 --> 00:13:10,680 Speaker 1: an epidemic of bubonic plague, Making matters worse. An outbreak 194 00:13:10,679 --> 00:13:14,920 Speaker 1: of smallpox had also been reported in both London and Barbados. 195 00:13:15,080 --> 00:13:19,000 Speaker 1: The route Durrell and his crew had sailed because cargo 196 00:13:19,040 --> 00:13:23,200 Speaker 1: ships from both locations came into port frequently. Customs agents 197 00:13:23,200 --> 00:13:26,720 Speaker 1: in Boston had taken to examining incoming crews for traces 198 00:13:26,720 --> 00:13:33,280 Speaker 1: of sickness, but the captain didn't subscribe to Boston's inspection requirements. 199 00:13:33,280 --> 00:13:36,240 Speaker 1: Such an intrusion of his liberties were an inconvenience to 200 00:13:36,320 --> 00:13:40,360 Speaker 1: his business. Sure, there had been death swollen route, but 201 00:13:40,440 --> 00:13:43,520 Speaker 1: Durrell knew better than to be specific in the ship's logs. 202 00:13:44,600 --> 00:13:47,080 Speaker 1: Once the crew laid anchor, he released them to go 203 00:13:47,160 --> 00:13:51,640 Speaker 1: ashore at Castle Island. On May twelve, a report came 204 00:13:51,679 --> 00:13:54,360 Speaker 1: in from the Sea Horse. The last man to die 205 00:13:54,480 --> 00:13:57,679 Speaker 1: had been young and healthy. Just days after the ship docked. 206 00:13:58,520 --> 00:14:02,920 Speaker 1: Inspectors were sent to instigate there. They were horrified to 207 00:14:02,960 --> 00:14:06,120 Speaker 1: discover two other young men, both in the early stages 208 00:14:06,120 --> 00:14:10,040 Speaker 1: of smallpox. But the real terror came when they learned 209 00:14:10,080 --> 00:14:14,280 Speaker 1: that forty three other crew members were freely roaming Boston's streets. 210 00:14:15,200 --> 00:14:18,360 Speaker 1: The City council ordered an immediate quarantine for the Sea Horse. 211 00:14:18,920 --> 00:14:21,680 Speaker 1: It took several days before all the men were found 212 00:14:21,720 --> 00:14:25,560 Speaker 1: and returned to their ships. Captain and crew were ordered 213 00:14:25,560 --> 00:14:29,840 Speaker 1: to quarantine at a hospital on Spectacle Island. Darrell refused, 214 00:14:29,880 --> 00:14:35,320 Speaker 1: though adamant that his men hadn't brought smallpox ashore. Eventually 215 00:14:35,360 --> 00:14:38,920 Speaker 1: he left Boston Harbor, but instead of heading to the hospital, 216 00:14:39,240 --> 00:14:43,840 Speaker 1: he instead dropped anchor at Bird Island. While city council 217 00:14:43,880 --> 00:14:47,640 Speaker 1: members and the ship's captain quarreled, officials decided to keep 218 00:14:47,680 --> 00:14:50,800 Speaker 1: their findings aboard the Sea Horse out of the public sears. 219 00:14:51,600 --> 00:14:53,920 Speaker 1: There was no reason to cause a panic, after all, 220 00:14:55,200 --> 00:14:58,840 Speaker 1: but secrets have a way of leaking, and before long, 221 00:14:58,960 --> 00:15:02,760 Speaker 1: the news, along with the upcoming epidemic spread through the 222 00:15:02,800 --> 00:15:08,080 Speaker 1: city like fire. Durrell, angry with the implication that he 223 00:15:08,120 --> 00:15:11,160 Speaker 1: had caused the outbreak, and even more furious that he 224 00:15:11,200 --> 00:15:13,960 Speaker 1: and the ship were now in lockdown, had a musician 225 00:15:14,080 --> 00:15:17,680 Speaker 1: play the trumpet at all hours, disturbing the peace of 226 00:15:17,680 --> 00:15:21,880 Speaker 1: those living close to shore. Eight days into the quarantine, 227 00:15:22,000 --> 00:15:25,720 Speaker 1: officials tried to quiet the rumors and concern. People were 228 00:15:25,800 --> 00:15:30,240 Speaker 1: on edge. By May twenty six, Cotton Mather wrote in 229 00:15:30,280 --> 00:15:33,080 Speaker 1: his diary that smallpox would be upon them once more. 230 00:15:34,000 --> 00:15:36,120 Speaker 1: The disease wasn't all that was on his mind, though 231 00:15:36,720 --> 00:15:40,400 Speaker 1: his debts were growing too. His second marriage was in trouble, 232 00:15:41,080 --> 00:15:44,160 Speaker 1: and on top of all of that, his congregation had 233 00:15:44,160 --> 00:15:49,680 Speaker 1: started to dwindle. Puritans were becoming less popular. His reputation 234 00:15:49,760 --> 00:15:52,600 Speaker 1: had been under fire since the uproar, of which chials 235 00:15:52,600 --> 00:15:56,800 Speaker 1: in Salem, and his opponents, both personal and religious, seemed 236 00:15:56,840 --> 00:16:00,440 Speaker 1: to be attacking him from all sides. A of course, 237 00:16:00,640 --> 00:16:03,880 Speaker 1: mother wasn't the easiest person to get along with. He 238 00:16:04,000 --> 00:16:07,640 Speaker 1: was prone to fits of rage, exaggeration in bravado, and 239 00:16:07,840 --> 00:16:12,600 Speaker 1: his clinging to outdated conventions didn't win him any popularity contests. 240 00:16:13,800 --> 00:16:16,480 Speaker 1: He had long been saying another outbreak was on the way, 241 00:16:16,920 --> 00:16:19,960 Speaker 1: and when one hadn't happened in a few years, people 242 00:16:20,000 --> 00:16:23,640 Speaker 1: began to dismiss his warnings. Not to be ignored, he 243 00:16:23,720 --> 00:16:28,960 Speaker 1: claimed a destroying angel would wreak havoc on Boston. But 244 00:16:29,480 --> 00:16:33,120 Speaker 1: the warm spring weather had arrived, people ventured out and 245 00:16:33,240 --> 00:16:38,080 Speaker 1: mingled with their neighbors, unaware that infected sailors were among them. 246 00:16:38,080 --> 00:16:42,760 Speaker 1: Not surprisingly, many became ill. Soon enough, the city officials 247 00:16:42,760 --> 00:16:46,440 Speaker 1: could no longer pretend the virus wasn't spreading. They made 248 00:16:46,440 --> 00:16:49,720 Speaker 1: another announcement in the paper, notifying the town that they 249 00:16:49,760 --> 00:16:54,080 Speaker 1: had eight known cases, though in reality the numbers were 250 00:16:54,160 --> 00:16:59,080 Speaker 1: much higher. Read quarantine flags cropped up in front of 251 00:16:59,080 --> 00:17:02,840 Speaker 1: people's homes, along with signs reading Lord have mercy on 252 00:17:02,920 --> 00:17:07,320 Speaker 1: this house. Eventually the flags were everywhere in the city, 253 00:17:07,440 --> 00:17:12,320 Speaker 1: enforced martial law. While Mather was worried, he also couldn't 254 00:17:12,320 --> 00:17:16,520 Speaker 1: help feeling a little justified. Deciding that now was the 255 00:17:16,600 --> 00:17:19,800 Speaker 1: time to implement his plan, he wrote to a prominent 256 00:17:19,840 --> 00:17:23,560 Speaker 1: physician and friend, telling him about Nissimus and their concept 257 00:17:23,600 --> 00:17:27,080 Speaker 1: of inoculation. He didn't have to wait long for the 258 00:17:27,080 --> 00:17:32,880 Speaker 1: rejection letter. Undeterred, Mather wrote to several more physicians, one 259 00:17:33,119 --> 00:17:37,000 Speaker 1: doctor Zadbiel. Boylston responded and asked for any notes and 260 00:17:37,040 --> 00:17:42,240 Speaker 1: papers Mather had on the subject. Meanwhile, smallpox cases exploded. 261 00:17:43,040 --> 00:17:45,680 Speaker 1: People no longer had faith in city officials to tell 262 00:17:45,720 --> 00:17:49,720 Speaker 1: the truth and began to evacuate the city, potentially spreading 263 00:17:49,760 --> 00:17:54,280 Speaker 1: the disease farther. By the time Mather's letter arrived, doctor 264 00:17:54,320 --> 00:17:57,160 Speaker 1: Boylston had already sent his wife and daughters to stay 265 00:17:57,160 --> 00:18:00,719 Speaker 1: with relatives in another colony. One of his sons remained 266 00:18:00,760 --> 00:18:04,240 Speaker 1: at school in Cambridge, though, and two more stayed in Boston. 267 00:18:05,359 --> 00:18:08,919 Speaker 1: Knowing how deadly the disease was, the doctor became obsessive 268 00:18:08,960 --> 00:18:15,120 Speaker 1: about changing clothes between patients, among other sanitation practices. After 269 00:18:15,240 --> 00:18:19,119 Speaker 1: much deliberation about the best method of an oculation, Boylston 270 00:18:19,240 --> 00:18:21,879 Speaker 1: decided it was time for a trial and sent a 271 00:18:21,960 --> 00:18:25,000 Speaker 1: note to Mather telling him he would attempt to immunize 272 00:18:25,040 --> 00:18:29,480 Speaker 1: a few test subjects. After formulating the procedure and coming 273 00:18:29,560 --> 00:18:32,520 Speaker 1: up with what he thought was a solid plan, Boylston 274 00:18:32,680 --> 00:18:35,600 Speaker 1: visited one of his patients who was twelve days into 275 00:18:35,640 --> 00:18:39,600 Speaker 1: the sickness. After cleaning the skin on his patient's arm, 276 00:18:39,880 --> 00:18:43,119 Speaker 1: Boylston pierced a few blisters and collected the fluid with 277 00:18:43,160 --> 00:18:46,679 Speaker 1: a quill. He transferred liquid to a vial and placed 278 00:18:46,680 --> 00:18:49,200 Speaker 1: to stop er in it, then tucked the vial into 279 00:18:49,200 --> 00:18:53,240 Speaker 1: his jacket pocket to keep it at body temperature. Finally, 280 00:18:53,280 --> 00:18:56,399 Speaker 1: he headed home to his test subjects. One was his 281 00:18:56,440 --> 00:19:00,159 Speaker 1: own son, six year old Thomas. Also part of the 282 00:19:00,160 --> 00:19:03,119 Speaker 1: test would be his assistant, an enslaved man called Jack, 283 00:19:03,680 --> 00:19:08,679 Speaker 1: and the man's young son Jackie. After that the waiting began. 284 00:19:09,560 --> 00:19:13,720 Speaker 1: Their plan might very well save lives, but like so 285 00:19:13,800 --> 00:19:25,800 Speaker 1: many things in life, only time would tell. Inoculation wasn't pleasant. 286 00:19:26,320 --> 00:19:29,080 Speaker 1: Not just the procedure, mind you, that was bad enough. 287 00:19:29,760 --> 00:19:32,920 Speaker 1: The preparation leading up to it wasn't exactly a walk 288 00:19:32,960 --> 00:19:36,880 Speaker 1: in the park. But from the medical journals Boilston had read, 289 00:19:37,240 --> 00:19:40,679 Speaker 1: along with Mather's interview notes from the black population, the 290 00:19:40,760 --> 00:19:45,000 Speaker 1: doctor had what he hoped would work. First, the patient 291 00:19:45,160 --> 00:19:48,960 Speaker 1: was to take a laxative to purge their system during 292 00:19:48,960 --> 00:19:54,400 Speaker 1: the isolation. A week before and three weeks after the procedure. Thomas, Jackie, 293 00:19:54,400 --> 00:19:57,240 Speaker 1: and Jack were also placed on a special diet, no 294 00:19:57,400 --> 00:20:03,240 Speaker 1: milk or other dairy products. Boylston chose to inoculate Thomas first. 295 00:20:04,040 --> 00:20:06,560 Speaker 1: He made an incision on his son's upper arm then 296 00:20:06,600 --> 00:20:09,280 Speaker 1: placed a single drop of liquid from the vial into 297 00:20:09,280 --> 00:20:13,280 Speaker 1: the open wound. Then the process was repeated, this time 298 00:20:13,320 --> 00:20:16,680 Speaker 1: on the boy's upper thigh near the buttocks. Not once 299 00:20:16,720 --> 00:20:19,479 Speaker 1: did Thomas cry out despite the lack of a topical 300 00:20:19,480 --> 00:20:23,679 Speaker 1: memming agent. Jackie was just a toddler, and although he 301 00:20:23,720 --> 00:20:27,920 Speaker 1: did cry, he was back to playing moments afterward. Jack 302 00:20:28,160 --> 00:20:33,320 Speaker 1: was last. Finally, with the procedures complete, all the windows 303 00:20:33,320 --> 00:20:35,560 Speaker 1: in the house were shut and the three patients were 304 00:20:35,640 --> 00:20:38,040 Speaker 1: kept in a single room in an attempt to contain 305 00:20:38,119 --> 00:20:42,399 Speaker 1: the virus. Four days later, the virus may not have 306 00:20:42,480 --> 00:20:47,160 Speaker 1: spread among the test subjects, but word had. Citizens were 307 00:20:47,200 --> 00:20:51,680 Speaker 1: horrified and outraged. They openly condemned Boylston for not only 308 00:20:51,760 --> 00:20:54,639 Speaker 1: using his own son, but for such a dangerous and 309 00:20:54,800 --> 00:20:59,520 Speaker 1: clearly immoral procedure. Once they learned that their own minister 310 00:20:59,680 --> 00:21:04,680 Speaker 1: had stigated the inoculations, they became downright incensed. A couple 311 00:21:04,680 --> 00:21:08,359 Speaker 1: of days later, Jackie and Thomas had begun to run fevers. 312 00:21:09,320 --> 00:21:12,760 Speaker 1: Boylston had hoped that symptoms would be mild, but now 313 00:21:12,800 --> 00:21:15,320 Speaker 1: he wondered if it had saved his son or condemned 314 00:21:15,359 --> 00:21:18,840 Speaker 1: him to a premature death. All he could do was 315 00:21:18,880 --> 00:21:24,679 Speaker 1: wait Eight days into the quarantine, Jackie seemed better, but 316 00:21:24,800 --> 00:21:29,200 Speaker 1: Thomas's fever spiked. He twitched in his sleep and had 317 00:21:29,280 --> 00:21:35,680 Speaker 1: vivid nightmares. On day nine, Boylston induced vomiting. Seven hours later, 318 00:21:36,040 --> 00:21:40,800 Speaker 1: his son's fever broke. The two boys developed blisters on 319 00:21:40,840 --> 00:21:45,320 Speaker 1: the ninth day, but Jack barely had any symptoms. Many 320 00:21:45,400 --> 00:21:48,560 Speaker 1: of the white population in Boston felt that inoculation was 321 00:21:48,640 --> 00:21:51,719 Speaker 1: dangerous and that the black population had lied about its 322 00:21:51,720 --> 00:21:56,400 Speaker 1: effectiveness in an attempt to kill off their owners. Boylston, however, 323 00:21:56,760 --> 00:22:00,399 Speaker 1: held fast to his belief that immunization was life saving. 324 00:22:02,080 --> 00:22:06,040 Speaker 1: Time and again, the doctor found himself under attack, even 325 00:22:06,080 --> 00:22:09,679 Speaker 1: when Jack, Jackie, and Thomas had fully recovered without the 326 00:22:09,760 --> 00:22:14,000 Speaker 1: devastating symptoms and scarring that most others experienced from smallpox. 327 00:22:14,520 --> 00:22:19,000 Speaker 1: Some people objected to inoculations based on religious beliefs. They 328 00:22:19,040 --> 00:22:22,359 Speaker 1: believed that God's will wasn't something to tamper with, and 329 00:22:22,400 --> 00:22:25,040 Speaker 1: that changing the course of an illness was nothing short 330 00:22:25,200 --> 00:22:29,720 Speaker 1: of the devil's work. Mather did his best persuade people 331 00:22:29,840 --> 00:22:33,680 Speaker 1: that rejecting inoculation was a direct violation of the sixth commandment, 332 00:22:33,960 --> 00:22:38,320 Speaker 1: thou shalt not kill those unwilling to inoculate were welcoming 333 00:22:38,359 --> 00:22:41,760 Speaker 1: the disease, and that was the true crime against God. 334 00:22:43,640 --> 00:22:47,040 Speaker 1: In July, doctor Boylston was called before the city officials. 335 00:22:47,800 --> 00:22:51,160 Speaker 1: No amount of scientific evidence nor medical research from England 336 00:22:51,240 --> 00:22:54,960 Speaker 1: persuaded the committee. Though he did his best to defend 337 00:22:55,000 --> 00:22:58,840 Speaker 1: himself and his practice, the doctor realized the councilman and 338 00:22:59,000 --> 00:23:03,200 Speaker 1: the public had made up their minds against immunization. He left, 339 00:23:03,359 --> 00:23:07,000 Speaker 1: determined to continue inoculating people as long as smallpox was 340 00:23:07,040 --> 00:23:14,600 Speaker 1: a threat to the community. By now, Boylston had successfully 341 00:23:14,640 --> 00:23:19,119 Speaker 1: inoculated two more of his sons. Mother, however, chose not 342 00:23:19,440 --> 00:23:24,399 Speaker 1: to inoculate his children. He wrestled with indecision and hoped 343 00:23:24,480 --> 00:23:27,800 Speaker 1: that if officials outlawed inoculations, he would be off the 344 00:23:27,840 --> 00:23:32,199 Speaker 1: hook as a hypocrite. Had lost his first wife and 345 00:23:32,400 --> 00:23:36,040 Speaker 1: ten of his fifteen children to disease, and two of 346 00:23:36,119 --> 00:23:40,920 Speaker 1: his daughters were now ill, Hannah and Abigail. He wrote 347 00:23:40,920 --> 00:23:44,040 Speaker 1: in his journal that the cursed clamor of people fiercely 348 00:23:44,119 --> 00:23:46,720 Speaker 1: possessed by the devil would stop him from saving the 349 00:23:46,760 --> 00:23:51,960 Speaker 1: lives of his remaining children and complicating matters, Abigail was 350 00:23:52,000 --> 00:23:57,440 Speaker 1: weeks away from giving birth. Shortly afterward, his son Samuel 351 00:23:57,560 --> 00:24:00,560 Speaker 1: reported that the college roommate had come down with allpox 352 00:24:00,840 --> 00:24:05,080 Speaker 1: and begged to be inoculated. With two of his children 353 00:24:05,119 --> 00:24:10,720 Speaker 1: already stricken, mother relented. Samuel and Hannah survived, though Abigail 354 00:24:10,800 --> 00:24:15,960 Speaker 1: and her baby died. Smallpox continued to ravage the city, 355 00:24:16,119 --> 00:24:19,800 Speaker 1: and the death toll continued to rise. Doctor Boylston was 356 00:24:20,000 --> 00:24:24,520 Speaker 1: verbally and sometimes physically assaulted. His saddle was tard after 357 00:24:24,560 --> 00:24:29,280 Speaker 1: an elderly inoculation patient died. Others cried out for his imprisonment, 358 00:24:31,160 --> 00:24:35,560 Speaker 1: but the doctor wasn't the only one under attack. One morning, 359 00:24:35,680 --> 00:24:39,080 Speaker 1: while the Mather household slept, someone threw a crude bomb 360 00:24:39,119 --> 00:24:42,919 Speaker 1: through a window. Unfortunately, the fuse was knocked loose and 361 00:24:42,920 --> 00:24:46,840 Speaker 1: the device fizzled. Though a hefty reward was offered, not 362 00:24:47,080 --> 00:24:52,200 Speaker 1: a single person stepped forward with any information. That October 363 00:24:52,240 --> 00:24:55,520 Speaker 1: saw the highest death toll yet, an average of thirteen 364 00:24:55,600 --> 00:24:59,800 Speaker 1: deaths a day. Boylston continued to immunize those who sought 365 00:24:59,880 --> 00:25:03,720 Speaker 1: him mount and by December the inoculations were seeming to 366 00:25:03,760 --> 00:25:08,719 Speaker 1: take hold. Attacks against him continued to rise, though, and 367 00:25:08,760 --> 00:25:11,439 Speaker 1: fearing for the safety of his family, he stopped taking 368 00:25:11,480 --> 00:25:17,800 Speaker 1: on new patients for the month between December and January. Fortunately, 369 00:25:18,119 --> 00:25:21,160 Speaker 1: two other doctors and neighboring towns took up the practice 370 00:25:21,160 --> 00:25:25,639 Speaker 1: of immunization. By February, the Boston Newsletter wrote that not 371 00:25:25,720 --> 00:25:28,320 Speaker 1: a single case of smallpox had been reported for the 372 00:25:28,359 --> 00:25:33,680 Speaker 1: first time in nearly a year. In May, Boylston performed 373 00:25:33,720 --> 00:25:38,040 Speaker 1: his last inoculations, many on Mather's extended family who had 374 00:25:38,040 --> 00:25:41,800 Speaker 1: returned to the city. The minister recorded the success in 375 00:25:41,840 --> 00:25:45,280 Speaker 1: his journal, stating that several hundred people of all ages 376 00:25:45,320 --> 00:25:49,720 Speaker 1: and races had been inoculated. The smallpox epidemic had come 377 00:25:49,760 --> 00:25:53,439 Speaker 1: to an end, though the debate raged on and several 378 00:25:53,440 --> 00:25:57,160 Speaker 1: cities banned the practice. Those who chose to protect themselves 379 00:25:57,240 --> 00:26:01,840 Speaker 1: found doctors willing to inoculate, but smallpox and the debate 380 00:26:01,840 --> 00:26:06,159 Speaker 1: around immunization was far from over. In fact, it was 381 00:26:06,280 --> 00:26:19,120 Speaker 1: just getting started. With the population booming in cities growing denser, 382 00:26:19,560 --> 00:26:24,200 Speaker 1: it wasn't long before diseases like smallpox returned. People living 383 00:26:24,240 --> 00:26:28,280 Speaker 1: in areas that banned inoculations often sent family members to Philadelphia, 384 00:26:28,359 --> 00:26:32,440 Speaker 1: where the procedure was allowed. In seventeen seventy five, a 385 00:26:32,520 --> 00:26:35,879 Speaker 1: new outbreak spread through the colonies, threatening to infect the 386 00:26:35,880 --> 00:26:40,120 Speaker 1: new Continental Army. People fled the city, hoping to find 387 00:26:40,119 --> 00:26:43,920 Speaker 1: refuge in nearby towns, but General George Washington banned them 388 00:26:43,960 --> 00:26:48,200 Speaker 1: from the army's camps to prevent further infection. The British 389 00:26:48,200 --> 00:26:51,800 Speaker 1: and their mercenaries new Colonials were vulnerable to smallpox, and 390 00:26:51,880 --> 00:26:56,000 Speaker 1: sent infected prisoners directly into the colonies. And if that 391 00:26:56,119 --> 00:26:58,960 Speaker 1: sounds a bit like Germ warfare, that's because it was. 392 00:26:59,760 --> 00:27:02,639 Speaker 1: If the rebels were sick, the budding revolution would be 393 00:27:02,680 --> 00:27:06,080 Speaker 1: over without much of a fight. After all, the British 394 00:27:06,080 --> 00:27:08,760 Speaker 1: troops had been inoculated back in England, where the practice 395 00:27:08,840 --> 00:27:13,760 Speaker 1: was legal and commonplace. The plan seemed to work in 396 00:27:13,800 --> 00:27:17,080 Speaker 1: the fall of seventeen seventy five, when over ten thousand 397 00:27:17,160 --> 00:27:20,800 Speaker 1: Colonial troops were sent to march on Quebec. Failure to 398 00:27:20,840 --> 00:27:24,800 Speaker 1: take the Canadian city was blamed mainly on illness. Three 399 00:27:24,920 --> 00:27:28,760 Speaker 1: thousand men were stricken with smallpox, prompting John Adams to 400 00:27:28,800 --> 00:27:31,640 Speaker 1: say that the disease was ten times worse than any 401 00:27:31,800 --> 00:27:37,280 Speaker 1: human adversary. General Washington also knew the dangers of the disease. 402 00:27:38,000 --> 00:27:41,600 Speaker 1: He had survived the illness as a child, but though 403 00:27:41,600 --> 00:27:44,840 Speaker 1: he believed in an oculation, his orders were to prohibit 404 00:27:44,880 --> 00:27:48,440 Speaker 1: it among his men. The month long process was too 405 00:27:48,480 --> 00:27:52,760 Speaker 1: time consuming, he told them. When the British left Boston 406 00:27:52,840 --> 00:27:56,600 Speaker 1: in seventeen seventy six, Washington sent a thousand troops had 407 00:27:56,600 --> 00:28:00,200 Speaker 1: survived smallpox to secure the city. With a growing need 408 00:28:00,240 --> 00:28:03,200 Speaker 1: for even more soldiers, the call went out for volunteers. 409 00:28:04,240 --> 00:28:07,040 Speaker 1: Men from far and wide joined, but most of them 410 00:28:07,119 --> 00:28:12,040 Speaker 1: had no immunity. Virginia had barely been touched by smallpox, 411 00:28:12,320 --> 00:28:15,480 Speaker 1: but when enlisted men returned home, they brought the deadly 412 00:28:15,520 --> 00:28:20,320 Speaker 1: disease with them. Now Washington was faced with a problem. 413 00:28:20,359 --> 00:28:23,520 Speaker 1: If he didn't inoculate his men, he wouldn't have enough 414 00:28:23,520 --> 00:28:27,359 Speaker 1: of them to fight, Defying the laws against it, he 415 00:28:27,480 --> 00:28:32,400 Speaker 1: had recruits. Inoculated soldiers were sworn to secrecy. It wouldn't 416 00:28:32,440 --> 00:28:34,280 Speaker 1: do for the British to learn that the majority of 417 00:28:34,280 --> 00:28:38,800 Speaker 1: the rebel troops were incapacitated during the quarantine period. By 418 00:28:38,800 --> 00:28:42,680 Speaker 1: the year's end, forty men would carry smallpox immunity for 419 00:28:42,720 --> 00:28:46,240 Speaker 1: the rest of their lives. Infection rates dropped from seventeen 420 00:28:46,280 --> 00:28:50,880 Speaker 1: percent to just one percent. After that, Washington's troops were 421 00:28:50,880 --> 00:28:53,440 Speaker 1: able to travel up and down the coastline and move 422 00:28:53,520 --> 00:28:56,720 Speaker 1: from city to city without catching or spreading the disease. 423 00:28:57,560 --> 00:29:02,040 Speaker 1: Their immunity kept them healthy and more importantly, allowed them 424 00:29:02,040 --> 00:29:06,280 Speaker 1: to continue the fight for American independence. And the rest, 425 00:29:06,600 --> 00:29:13,960 Speaker 1: as they say, is history. There's more to this story. 426 00:29:14,320 --> 00:29:16,959 Speaker 1: Stick around after this brief sponsor break to hear all 427 00:29:17,000 --> 00:29:25,560 Speaker 1: about it. In seventeen ninety six, Dr Edward Jenner created 428 00:29:25,600 --> 00:29:30,080 Speaker 1: the first vaccine for smallpox. Though his method was considerably 429 00:29:30,120 --> 00:29:34,440 Speaker 1: safer and more comfortable than earlier techniques, people still tended 430 00:29:34,480 --> 00:29:39,960 Speaker 1: to resist immunization, and smallpox outbreaks continued worldwide. In just 431 00:29:40,160 --> 00:29:43,880 Speaker 1: the twentieth century alone, about two million people died from 432 00:29:43,920 --> 00:29:48,040 Speaker 1: the disease. While smallpox may seem like something from our 433 00:29:48,080 --> 00:29:52,520 Speaker 1: distant past, work towards truly eliminating the disease didn't happen 434 00:29:52,640 --> 00:29:57,040 Speaker 1: until nineteen sixty four. That's when the World Health Organization 435 00:29:57,120 --> 00:29:59,880 Speaker 1: Expert Committee came up with an aggressive plan to vACC 436 00:30:00,040 --> 00:30:04,760 Speaker 1: nate the entire world population. Without it, outbreaks would always 437 00:30:04,760 --> 00:30:09,920 Speaker 1: threaten new generations. The disease was so persistent and contagious 438 00:30:09,960 --> 00:30:14,640 Speaker 1: that even when of Western Nigeria was vaccinated, an outbreak 439 00:30:14,680 --> 00:30:18,280 Speaker 1: still occurred in the remaining ten The source of the 440 00:30:18,320 --> 00:30:21,440 Speaker 1: flare up reportedly originated in a religious group that had 441 00:30:21,480 --> 00:30:26,120 Speaker 1: been against vaccination supplying the world with enough vaccines proved 442 00:30:26,160 --> 00:30:29,600 Speaker 1: to be a monumental task. Liquid serum had to be 443 00:30:29,720 --> 00:30:32,920 Speaker 1: used within forty eight hours. The freeze dried version was 444 00:30:32,960 --> 00:30:36,160 Speaker 1: created along with the new delivery method, a jet injector, 445 00:30:36,320 --> 00:30:41,640 Speaker 1: allowing workers to deliver a thousand vaccinations an hour. Though efficient, 446 00:30:41,920 --> 00:30:45,400 Speaker 1: the injector was cost prohibitive, so an even better delivery 447 00:30:45,400 --> 00:30:49,600 Speaker 1: method was created, a bifurcated needle, which is essentially a 448 00:30:49,680 --> 00:30:55,000 Speaker 1: two pronged syringe. The operations suffered another setback when supplies 449 00:30:55,000 --> 00:30:59,520 Speaker 1: were delayed and new outbreaks erupted. Staff members scrambled to 450 00:30:59,560 --> 00:31:03,600 Speaker 1: isolate and contain the infected. The organization was losing the 451 00:31:03,640 --> 00:31:08,760 Speaker 1: war on smallpox. On New Year's Day of nineteen sixty seven, 452 00:31:09,080 --> 00:31:13,960 Speaker 1: the World Health Organization launched an even more aggressive eradication program. 453 00:31:14,080 --> 00:31:17,680 Speaker 1: The result was the elimination of smallpox in Western Europe, Japan, 454 00:31:17,840 --> 00:31:22,520 Speaker 1: and North America, among other places. Disaster struck again in 455 00:31:22,600 --> 00:31:26,160 Speaker 1: nineteen seventy though, killing a hundred and twenty three unvaccinated 456 00:31:26,200 --> 00:31:29,560 Speaker 1: people in India. A door to door search helped vaccinate 457 00:31:29,560 --> 00:31:33,840 Speaker 1: the vulnerable and isolate the sick. In nineteen seventy two, 458 00:31:34,000 --> 00:31:38,720 Speaker 1: yet another outbreak occurred this time in Yugoslavia, authorities declared 459 00:31:38,760 --> 00:31:42,000 Speaker 1: martial law to enforce quarantine, and the outbreak lasted a 460 00:31:42,040 --> 00:31:49,640 Speaker 1: mere two months. By nine seventy five, smallpox persisted primarily 461 00:31:49,720 --> 00:31:53,560 Speaker 1: in the Horn of Africa. Vaccinating people there had proved difficult. 462 00:31:54,000 --> 00:31:55,960 Speaker 1: Much of the area was in the midst of civil war. 463 00:31:56,880 --> 00:32:00,200 Speaker 1: Famine and violence caused many refugees to flee take the 464 00:32:00,200 --> 00:32:03,840 Speaker 1: disease with them, and getting people in supplies in and 465 00:32:03,880 --> 00:32:08,560 Speaker 1: out of the region was difficult without transportation infrastructure. The 466 00:32:08,640 --> 00:32:12,080 Speaker 1: last case of the deadliest strain of smallpox, very all 467 00:32:12,120 --> 00:32:14,640 Speaker 1: a major, was found in a three year old girl 468 00:32:14,720 --> 00:32:18,800 Speaker 1: in India in nineteen seventy seven. The World Health Organization 469 00:32:18,880 --> 00:32:23,240 Speaker 1: traveled to Bangladesh to isolate the child. Thankfully, with medical treatment, 470 00:32:23,400 --> 00:32:27,200 Speaker 1: she made a full recovery. Since that young girl was 471 00:32:27,240 --> 00:32:30,120 Speaker 1: the last known case of the deadliest strain of smallpox, 472 00:32:30,560 --> 00:32:33,120 Speaker 1: a sample taken from her was transferred to the United 473 00:32:33,160 --> 00:32:36,760 Speaker 1: States Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta and stored with 474 00:32:36,800 --> 00:32:42,200 Speaker 1: other disease samples there. Finally, on December nine of ninety nine, 475 00:32:42,680 --> 00:32:48,320 Speaker 1: smallpox was declared completely eradicated. Today, it's the only disease 476 00:32:48,400 --> 00:32:52,240 Speaker 1: humanity has ever been able to eliminate. The cost totaled 477 00:32:52,280 --> 00:32:55,560 Speaker 1: over three hundred million dollars, with the United States making 478 00:32:55,600 --> 00:32:59,600 Speaker 1: the largest contribution. That's over a billion dollars today adjusting 479 00:32:59,640 --> 00:33:03,720 Speaker 1: for a nation. While the World Health Organization kept a 480 00:33:03,760 --> 00:33:06,920 Speaker 1: couple of the vaccines on hand just in case, they 481 00:33:07,000 --> 00:33:12,400 Speaker 1: asked that all samples of smallpox be destroyed. After all, 482 00:33:12,440 --> 00:33:14,320 Speaker 1: if the disease were ever to find its way back 483 00:33:14,360 --> 00:33:19,040 Speaker 1: into the population, the results would be catastrophic. Most countries 484 00:33:19,080 --> 00:33:23,960 Speaker 1: agreed and destroyed their samples. Two, however, did not, and 485 00:33:24,040 --> 00:33:27,400 Speaker 1: they still have samples of the deadliest strain of smallpox 486 00:33:27,400 --> 00:33:44,640 Speaker 1: in history. Those countries Russia and the United States. American 487 00:33:44,720 --> 00:33:48,520 Speaker 1: Shadows is hosted by Lauren Vogelbaum. This episode was written 488 00:33:48,520 --> 00:33:52,360 Speaker 1: by Michelle Muto with researcher Robin Miniter, and produced by 489 00:33:52,360 --> 00:33:56,719 Speaker 1: Miranda Hawkins and Trevor Young, with executive producers Aaron Minky, 490 00:33:57,000 --> 00:34:00,120 Speaker 1: Alex Williams, and Matt Frederick. To learn more about out 491 00:34:00,160 --> 00:34:03,240 Speaker 1: the show, visit grim and Mild dot com. For more 492 00:34:03,280 --> 00:34:06,440 Speaker 1: podcasts from My Heart Radio, visit the I Heart Radio app, 493 00:34:06,600 --> 00:34:11,520 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. M