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For the majority of human recorded history, smallpox has been a constant scourge on the human population. Not until the 1970s was smallpox finally eradicated from Earth, allowing it nearly 2 millennia to ravage human society. As a result of this long tenure of disease, smallpox has significantly shaped the course of human history, particularly how society engaged in conflict and colonization.
In particular, smallpox has had a significant impact on the courses of conflict throughout human history. During the American War of independence, the commander of the Continental Army, George Washington, feared that the British would use smallpox as a weapon of war (Dr. Eileen Hinks, Smallpox: The Speckled Monster). This is not without merit, as a decade earlier British officers had suggested sending smallpox infected blankets and other items as a means of combating Native Americans (Trista Switzer, Smallpox: Deadly Again?). Also, during the American War of Independence, a colonial attempt to capture Canada was thwarted by smallpox infections along the line of march, causing the colonial forces to be combat ineffective (Dr. Eileen Hinks, Smallpox: The Speckled Monster). Smallpox would also have another uptick during the American Civil War and during the Franco-Prussian War, significant differences between vaccination procedures within the opposing armies caused smallpox to be extremely deadly among the French Arm (15% mortality) (Dr. Eileen Hinks, Smallpox: The Speckled Monster). Smallpox has been a distinct factor in conflict, particularly in the 18th and 19th centuries.
More significantly however, is the impact smallpox had on European Colonization of the Americans. After the Spanish had colonized most of the Caribbean Islands, conquistador Hernan Cortés captured the Aztec city of Tenochtitlan, but was forced out a few weeks later. When he came to re-capture the city, he found bodies in the streets, all having died from a smallpox epidemic brought by Europeans for which Native Americans had no immunity (Trista Switzer, Smallpox: Deadly Again?). A similar story occurred in Peru in 1532 when Francisco Pizzaro went to conquer the powerful Andes civilization of the Incas. Pizzaro easily conquered the Incas and discovered that the once great empire had nearly 75% of its population whipped out by smallpox (Trista Switzer, Smallpox: Deadly Again?). This deadly disease also helped to contribute to the fear natives had of Europeans since the European settlers appeared to be unaffected by smallpox while it killed millions of Native Americans (Trista Switzer, Smallpox: Deadly Again?). When British and French settlers came to settle North America, they found much of the land deserted where there had once been great tribes like the Wampanoag and the Powhatan. This is due to a smallpox epidemic that had ravaged these populations for the past two years that greatly reduced the native population and gave Europeans a buffer zone to gain a foothold in the New World Dr. Eileen Hinks, Smallpox: The Speckled Monster). Also as a result of this massive death among natives and continued virulence among Europeans, a labor deficit in the New World was created that needed to be filled. This set conditions for the African slave trade in the Americas to become so widespread and prevalent, due to the fact that Africans were more resistant to the virus Dr. Eileen Hinks, Smallpox: The Speckled Monster). Smallpox, and Native Americans susceptibility to it, played a direct role in the setting of conditions necessary for Europeans to so easily colonize the New World.
With the recent eradication of smallpox, the virus no longer appears to be as significant of a threat as it used to be, and likely its role in conflict and future colonization will diminish However, the story of smallpox provides a valuable lesson for future generations about how disease shapes conflict, as well as the impact on societies and populations when diseases are introduced to populations with no immunity.
Bibliography
Eileen Hinks, BI-245X Course Slides, Smallpox: The Speckled Monster
Smallpox: Deadly Again?, Prod. Trista Switzer, History Channel, 2008.