First Smallpox Epidemic in Canada

For the indigenous peoples of the Americas, smallpox was among the deadliest plagues brought by European settlers to the New World. By 1781, smallpox had reached the Canadian Great Plains, where the death toll among First Nations tribes such as the Cree, Ojibway, and Blackfoot was devastating.

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Further Readings: 
  • Fenn, Elizabeth A. Pox Americana: The Great Smallpox Epidemic of 1775-82. New York: Hill and Wang, 2001.
  • Hodge, Adam R. "Vectors of Colonialism: The Smallpox Epidemic of 1780-82 and Northern Great Plains Indian Life." Masters thesis, Kent State University, 2009. Available to download here
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1780