# Epidemics and Gift Blankets: Native Mortality **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [October 18, 2002, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/epidemics-and-gift-blankets-native-mortality/132822 "2002-10-18T14:09:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![CknowEVIL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dbc845/32.png) [@CknowEVIL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CknowEVIL)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2002, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/epidemics-and-gift-blankets-native-mortality/132822/1 "2002-10-18T14:09:47Z")
In your article about the top democidal regimes, you mention that Native mortality was due “inadvertently” to epidemic. Because you’re the smartest man in the world, I’m sure you know of the disease-ridden blankets that were gifts to First Nations from “the White man.” I’ve read that this was far from inadvertent, but actually biological warfare - to rid the New World of an obstacle. Thanks, Chris W, Ontario. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2002, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/epidemics-and-gift-blankets-native-mortality/132822/2 "2002-10-18T14:50:18Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by CknowEVIL \* > \*\*In your article about the top democidal regimes, you mention that Native mortality was due “inadvertently” to epidemic. Because you’re the smartest man in the world, I’m sure you know of the disease-ridden blankets that were gifts to First Nations from “the White man.” I’ve read that this was far from inadvertent, but actually biological warfare - to rid the New World of an obstacle. > > Thanks, Chris W, Ontario. \*\* Ummm, I _think_ that you are referring to this [http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a5\_066.html](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a5_066.html) event, which the All-Wise, All-Seeing **Cecil Adams** has already covered. What you don’t seem to know, **CknowEVIL** , is covered in this article [http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a4\_100.html](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a4_100.html) which makes it clear that not all disease outbreaks were deliberate. There were many different _kinds_ of illness that contributed to the problem. Heck, not even all the smallpox cases were _deliberate_. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2002, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/epidemics-and-gift-blankets-native-mortality/132822/3 "2002-10-18T14:59:46Z")
True, there were cases of deliberate attempts to spread disease to the natives, but they’re a drop in the bucket compared to the natural spread of European diseases. ---
**Author:** ![CknowEVIL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dbc845/32.png) [@CknowEVIL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CknowEVIL)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2002, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/epidemics-and-gift-blankets-native-mortality/132822/4 "2002-10-18T15:49:49Z")
Admittedly, the spread of disease obliterated many cultures off the face of the planet, but, is it possible that some “evil” physician back in the day could have deliberately encouraged the spread? ---
**Author:** ![InternetLegend](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/internetlegend/32/13154_2.png) [@InternetLegend](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/InternetLegend)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2002, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/epidemics-and-gift-blankets-native-mortality/132822/5 "2002-10-19T01:51:21Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by CknowEVIL \* > \*\*…is it possible that some “evil” physician back in the day could have deliberately encouraged the spread? \*\* Almost anything is _possible_, but that doesn’t make it _true_. I think the proper question would be whether there’s any convincing evidence to support that theory, and I think The Great One reported that evidence in the columns to which **Bosda** provided links. ---
**Author:** ![Nametag](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nametag/32/406_2.png) [@Nametag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nametag)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2002, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/epidemics-and-gift-blankets-native-mortality/132822/6 "2002-10-19T04:35:02Z")
Estimates of a massive die-off of Native Americans are based on rapid spread of disease during the _exploration_ of the Americas, before any English settlers arrived. However dastardly the blanket trick might have been, it was much too late to have been the cause of that massive extinction. Piecemeal destruction of whole villages and small tribes was certainly intended (in many cases), but was usually carried out by more…um, _direct_ means. ---
**Author:** ![DRomm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce73a5/32.png) [@DRomm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DRomm)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2002, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/epidemics-and-gift-blankets-native-mortality/132822/7 "2002-10-19T17:22:37Z")
The fact that the natives did not have any natural immunity to the diseases brought by the Europeans demonstrates that there was no major contact before then. Maybe the Norse explorers were healthy, and there were few of them and didn’t establish permanent colonies/traderoutes. Otherwise, the Americas would have been hit by the plagues in waves, as were the Asians/Europeans, and getting exposed all at once wouldn’t have wiped out 90% of them. This is a terrible calamity, and is glossed over in history books if it’s mentioned at all. Way back when, I asked in the Cecil Adams Usenet group why they knew to throw blankets used by sick people into native camps when they didn’t have the theory of germs. I got back asinine replies like “You’re just trolling”, which is why I let the group slide. Still, I got one good response (sorry for not remembering who), to the effect that while they might not have known about germs, they knew that using diseased blankets was associated with catching the disease. This was an early example of bio-warfare, “weapons of mass destruction”. But, as Nametag pointed out, this incident was well after most of the deaths by disease, and whatever casualties it caused (does anyone have a number?) were minor in the overall death rate. Still, a shameful incident. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2002, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/epidemics-and-gift-blankets-native-mortality/132822/8 "2002-10-20T04:55:50Z")
While it seems to be “common knowledge” that whites spread disease through infected blankets, I have only found two references to the act. In the first, we have a series of letters between the British officers, General Amherst, Colonel Bouquet, and Captain Ecuyer along with the diary of a militia commander Trent regarding the use of smallpox-infected blankets among the inhabitants of the Ohio valley in 1763. (This, of course, was more than 150 years after the inadvertant spread of several diseases along the Eastern seaboard had made it possible for the colonies at Massachusetts and Virgina to establish themselves among recently depopulated lands.) [http://www.nativeweb.org/pages/legal/amherst/lord\_jeff.html](http://www.nativeweb.org/pages/legal/amherst/lord_jeff.html) The second is more problematic. The steamer _St. Peter_ travelled up the Missouri through the Mandan communities with supplies that were desperately needed by the trading posts to honor commitments made both to fur trappers and to the Indian nations. A sailor broke out with smallpox shortly _after_ the trip had begun and the captain chose to continue the voyage rather than suffer the economic loss. While the decision was cleary reckless negligence, there has never been any evidence that the captain deliberately wanted to destroy his own trading partners–he was simply too shortsighted to realize the ultimate destruction he was inflicting. [http://www.outriderbooks.com/smallpox.htm](http://www.outriderbooks.com/smallpox.htm) Aside from these two incidents–which were horrible and indefensible–I have not encountered evidence that the practice was widespread. I have not even discovered any other _documented_ cases of such events. ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2002, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/epidemics-and-gift-blankets-native-mortality/132822/9 "2002-10-20T06:31:00Z")
One correction: while the two columns supplied by **Bosda** are both related to the topic, the actual column referenced by **CknowEVIL** was [Was Andrew Jackson one of the world’s biggest mass murderers?](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/021018.html) > [@](#): > > The native population of North America, as large as 15 million in 1500, had been reduced to less than 250,000 by 1890. Granted, native mortality was due primarily to the inadvertent spread of European diseases, and didn’t all happen on America’s watch. ---
**Author:** ![Louann\_Miller](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dec6dc/32.png) [@Louann\_Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Louann_Miller)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2002, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/epidemics-and-gift-blankets-native-mortality/132822/10 "2002-10-24T13:59:51Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by CknowEVIL \* > \*\*Admittedly, the spread of disease obliterated many cultures off the face of the planet, but, is it possible that some “evil” physician back in the day could have deliberately encouraged the spread? \*\* If they’d tried – which can’t be utterly ruled out in view of the one documented blanket incident – I doubt the result would have been much worse than what physicians of the 1500’s-1800’s did to people they were actually trying to cure. Dr. Semmelweiss, who pioneered the concept that it might be a good idea for doctors to wash their hands in between handling corpses and handling patients with open wounds, didnt’ propose his bright idea until (web search) 1847 or so, and the idea took many years to catch on.