There is even more depth to this story. The person who taught how innoculation was done since 16th century in the rest of the world was one, Onesimus Mather, slave of Cotton Mather, in 1716. In 1721 Mather told Dr. Boylston. Dr. Boylston performed the first surgery by an American physician, - ThreadSky

thecreweofthefancy.bsky.social • 17 days ago

There is even more depth to this story. The person who taught how innoculation was done since 16th century in the rest of the world was one, Onesimus Mather, slave of Cotton Mather, in 1716. In 1721 Mather told Dr. Boylston. Dr. Boylston performed the first surgery by an American physician,

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thecreweofthefancy.bsky.social•17 days ago

in 1710 and the first breast tumor removal in 1718. He withstood the first anti-vaxx movement. He and Mather both received death threats and grenade attacks, but the treatment explained by Onesimus saved Boston. That treatment is what was further refined and is referenced here...

thecreweofthefancy.bsky.social•17 days ago

The use of cowpox would come later in the 1770s and wouldn't be fully explained and refined until Jenner. What the American Colonies and early US was using was the technique taught by a slave. (He would buy his freedom after that lesson in 1716.) He was likely part of the Akan people as well.

profwehrman.bsky.social•17 days ago

There's a lot of depth to the story, indeed! I wrote a 400 page book about it! I write about how colonists whitewashed the history of inoculation ignoring Onesimus and the Africans and to claim it as their own invention. Even while stepping on its real origins they had no doubt that it was effective

thecreweofthefancy.bsky.social•17 days ago

Apologies. I am so used to seeing people referencing the later 18th century work, but forgetting the prior that I shot first. Haha. Come to think of it, I think I actually used parts of your book in my research. Haha.

profwehrman.bsky.social•17 days ago

I should say, they had no doubt after about the 1750s! No doubts during the Revolution itself is what I mean. Plenty of doubts before then as you rightly mention.

thecreweofthefancy.bsky.social•17 days ago

Do you think the non-doctors knew the history? When I was taught about it in school, it was always Jenner and nothing further was mentioned. When Onesimus working with Cotton Mather and an American born/trained doctor is frankly a better story. That part has been bugging me.

profwehrman.bsky.social•17 days ago

It's a much better story! But white Americans didn't like hearing that this great medical innovation came from Africa. Sometimes histories mentioned Mather or Boylston or that its from Asia or Africa. But starting in the 1730s they claimed Americans improved it enough that it was a new invention.

profwehrman.bsky.social•17 days ago

in New England they credited Boylston, in New York and Philadelphia they credited George Muirson or Adam Thomson, in the South they credited James Kilpatrick for improving inoculation. I'm not sure non-doctors new much about inoculation's origins but by the Revolution they knew it wasn't British.

profwehrman.bsky.social•17 days ago

Then when vaccination was discovered and published by Jenner in the 1790s. He was given credit for it. With the Revolution behind them, Americans didn't have a problem with it being a British invention, perhaps it was even easier to stomach than the African or Asian origins of inoculation.

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