A Skill This African Had Before Slavery

[IM2]

According to CWST, there was a riot in Boston. Oops, I mean, the Boston Tea Party took place on December 16, 1773. I was taught this event is what started the Revolutionary War. We learned about the death of Crispus Attucks, an enslaved Black person who is said to have been the first to die for American independence. All this is fantastic, but left out is the story of another slave. His name was Onesimus, and without him, there may not have been a Boston to have that riot; oops, I mean the protest against the unfair taxation of American colonists by Britain.

In 1721, Boston was hit by a smallpox epidemic. The epidemic began with a sailor infected with the virus. By the time he was quarantined, it was too late. “Between April and December 1721, 5,889 Bostonians had smallpox, and 844 died of it.” Bostonians were looking for anything that would stop the spread of smallpox. Onesimus, a slave owned by Cotton Mather, a prominent Bostonian of the time, told Mather about an inoculation procedure he had while in Africa. Mather then went to a doctor named Zabdiel Boylston, who listened to Mathers suggestion and experimented with the process by inoculating his son and two slaves.

Boylston saw that it worked, so he and Mather went to area doctors advocating for inoculation as a solution to stop the spread of the virus. Since the idea originated from a slave, there was great skepticism about the actual effectiveness of the procedure. In the end, those doctors had to rest their racism for a moment since people were dying and what Onesimus presented was the only proven solution. So facing the choice of using it or watching people die, the doctors decided to try the technique Onesimus suggested. Boston was saved.

How an Enslaved African Man in Boston Helped Save Generations from Smallpox | HISTORY

In the early 1700s, Onesimus shared a revolutionary way to prevent smallpox.

www.history.com

The Story Of Onesimus, The 18th-Century Slave Who Helped Usher In The Age Of Vaccines

When a smallpox outbreak hit Boston in 1721, Onesimus came up with a genius plan to help.

allthatsinteresting.com

 

[Toddsterpatriot]

If only more blacks today could be this useful.

 

[Kruska]

In 1721, Boston was hit by a smallpox epidemic. ....

A Skill This African Had Before Slavery​

So what 'Skill" did that African have? answer: - none.

 

[fncceo]

Having once heard of innoculation and having invented it aren't actually comparable .

On the other hand, the work with Smallpox innoculation by Dr Jenner in England, nearly 20 years earlier, would have been well known to physicians even in faraway Boston.

 

[Augustine_]

It's crazy how in today's politics republicans are publicly able to say that slavery is a good thing

 

[EvilCat Breath]

What a nice story.
The more you know.

Smallpox

In the early years of the American Revolution, George Washington faced an invisible killer that he had?

www.mountvernon.org

 

[EvilCat Breath]

There blacks of skill though. One such was Peter Swank a renegade from Jamaica. He was experienced with raising cattle destined for the boucan, or smokehouse. Swank was unfortunately captured by Jamaican privateers and brought to Boston as a slave. He was pressed into the service of cattleman and landowner, William Pyncheon. Pantheon had no need of slaves. He employed men to work for him. His inclination was to send Peter Swank on his way. Swank had other ideas and approached Pyncheon about giving him a job. Not just any job, but putting him in charge of the vast cattle herd. Swank swore that he could double, if not triple the profit on each head. After listening to Swank's proposition, Pyncheon agreed.

Swank ordered huge roofed, open sided shelters built. He contracted with brewers, millers, and cider makers for their leaving.

Throughout the long and bitter winter the cattle sheltered, stuffing themselves with corn, whey, Apple pressings and malt. By spring they were healthy and well cared for while the other cattle were starved living on what forage they could find.

Not yet done with his bargain, Peter Swank organized something that had never been done before. He hired Irishmen who had their own ponies. They called themselves cowboys. Swank proposed to use these cowboys in a cattle drive from Springfield to Boston and sell the fattened cattle at the harbor. He tripled the price just as he said he would. Incidentally being the father of the cattle drive.

 

[IM2]

What a nice story.
The more you know.

Smallpox

In the early years of the American Revolution, George Washington faced an invisible killer that he had?

www.mountvernon.org

The story is true. Onesimus saved Boston. What Washington faced later has nothing to do with this.

 

[IM2]

What white racists don't get is that Africans bought skills with them and the white slaveowner benefitted from that. Not the other way around.

 

[WinterBorn]

A Skill This African Had Before Slavery​

So what 'Skill" did that African have? answer: - none.

Knowledge.

 

[Kruska]

Knowledge.

"His" knowledge wasn't a skill - he simply remembered something, like don't stand under a tall tree during lightning.

Anyway this article only shows that he medical profession at Boston at the time - wasn't up to standard. see e.g. fncceo post.

Europeans (Portuguese) and Arabs along the African coast as well as in Goa and Malacca knew and practised this already since the 16th century. It is therefore reasonable that e.g. Arabs or Portuguese then brought this innoculation idea to Africa - to protect their slave investments.

Written accounts from the mid-1500s describe a form of variolation used in China known as insufflation, where smallpox scabs were dried, ground and blown into the nostril using a pipe. In India, similar practices were carried out through inoculation, using a lancet or needle to transfer material from smallpox pustules to the skin of healthy children. Accounts from the 18th century suggest this technique dates back hundreds of years.

 

[IM2]

"His" knowledge wasn't a skill - he simply remembered something, like don't stand under a tall tree during lightning.

Anyway this article only shows that he medical profession at Boston at the time - wasn't up to standard. see e.g. fncceo post.

Europeans (Portuguese) and Arabs along the African coast as well as in Goa and Malacca knew and practised this already since the 16th century. It is therefore reasonable that e.g. Arabs or Portuguese then brought this innoculation idea to Africa - to protect their slave investments.

Written accounts from the mid-1500s describe a form of variolation used in China known as insufflation, where smallpox scabs were dried, ground and blown into the nostril using a pipe. In India, similar practices were carried out through inoculation, using a lancet or needle to transfer material from smallpox pustules to the skin of healthy children. Accounts from the 18th century suggest this technique dates back hundreds of years.

Look, it's time you racists cut out the thinking that Africans knew nothing and lived on this earth for millions of years knowing nothing. Arabs lived in Africa and it is entirely reasonable that Africans knew of the procedure already before the Portuguese.

Onesimus brought medical knowledge he was not taught as a slave to America and it saved Boston. That's the way it is.

 

[IM2]

Having once heard of innoculation and having invented it aren't actually comparable .

On the other hand, the work with Smallpox innoculation by Dr Jenner in England, nearly 20 years earlier, would have been well known to physicians even in faraway Boston.

Apparently they didn't know it in Boston and who said Onesimus invented innoculation? Who said Africans invented innoculation? The fact is that Boston had a smallpox epidemic and a slave had knowledge of a procedure that ended up saving the lives of the citizens of Boston that whites did not. Knowledge he did not learn because of slavery.

 

[Harry Dresden]

Where did inoculation begin?


Inoculation had become established in the Ottoman Empire and Wales since 'time immemorial', and had reached Constantinople by about 1650. But where had it come from? Two possible origins have been suggested: China or India.

The origins of inoculation

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

 

[Kruska]

Look, it's time you racists cut out the thinking that Africans knew nothing and lived on this earth for millions of years knowing nothing. Arabs lived in Africa and it is entirely reasonable that Africans knew of the procedure already before the Portuguese.

Onesimus brought medical knowledge he was not taught as a slave to America and it saved Boston. That's the way it is.

He didn't bring any medical knowledge - he had observed a treatment when smallpox broke out in Massachusetts in 1716 - since he had been brought there as a slave already in 1706. as such he "learned" about it - whilst already being a slave.

This thread is just one of your countless and naive posts, trying to desperately convince people that Africans invented something of worth.
Smallpox was brought to Africa by first Arab traders from the 8th century onward and then by the Portuguese from 1500 onward. Since China, India, Arabs, Portuguese and Turks practiced this inoculation procedure, as already "documented" since the 13th century - it's kind of obvious who came up with this idea first. Most likely it was picked up from "India", first by Arabs and later by the Portuguese, and not from some West-African witch doctor.

However no doubt that the Boston population should have thanked him for remembering that practice.

 

[1srelluc]

My ancestor's slave was taught to read, write, and do sums to run a general store and grist mill. Those were skills he learned as a slave that served him well when he was freed.

He was also a brick/stone mason but I don't know if he had those skills when purchased or not.....One thing is for sure, he was taught that skill somewhere along the line.

Either way his skills were highly sought after as a Freedman.

 

[IM2]

Where did inoculation begin?


Inoculation had become established in the Ottoman Empire and Wales since 'time immemorial', and had reached Constantinople by about 1650. But where had it come from? Two possible origins have been suggested: China or India.

The origins of inoculation

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

That's not the damn point. I'm tired of you whites pretending that Africans lived for millions of years knowing nothing. Medicine and Medical procedures started in Africa. It is very possible that is where the people of the Ottoman Empire got it as well as Wales.

 

[AyeCantSeeYou]

If only more blacks today could be this useful.

Are you actually trying to contribute to the discussion or just being a smartass (aka trolling)? I remind you that this part of the forum is in Zone 1.

 

[Harry Dresden]

That's not the damn point. I'm tired of you whites pretending that Africans lived for millions of years knowing nothing. Medicine and Medical procedures started in Africa. It is very possible that is where the people of the Ottoman Empire got it as well as Wales.

and where did i say that?.....all i did was put up a historical artical about the history of inoculation which also mentioned the guy you mentioned....and most people,including you if you saw me,dont consider me a white guy.....

 

[Meathead]

According to CWST, there was a riot in Boston. Oops, I mean, the Boston Tea Party took place on December 16, 1773. I was taught this event is what started the Revolutionary War. We learned about the death of Crispus Attucks, an enslaved Black person who is said to have been the first to die for American independence. All this is fantastic, but left out is the story of another slave. His name was Onesimus, and without him, there may not have been a Boston to have that riot; oops, I mean the protest against the unfair taxation of American colonists by Britain.

In 1721, Boston was hit by a smallpox epidemic. The epidemic began with a sailor infected with the virus. By the time he was quarantined, it was too late. “Between April and December 1721, 5,889 Bostonians had smallpox, and 844 died of it.” Bostonians were looking for anything that would stop the spread of smallpox. Onesimus, a slave owned by Cotton Mather, a prominent Bostonian of the time, told Mather about an inoculation procedure he had while in Africa. Mather then went to a doctor named Zabdiel Boylston, who listened to Mathers suggestion and experimented with the process by inoculating his son and two slaves.

Boylston saw that it worked, so he and Mather went to area doctors advocating for inoculation as a solution to stop the spread of the virus. Since the idea originated from a slave, there was great skepticism about the actual effectiveness of the procedure. In the end, those doctors had to rest their racism for a moment since people were dying and what Onesimus presented was the only proven solution. So facing the choice of using it or watching people die, the doctors decided to try the technique Onesimus suggested. Boston was saved.

How an Enslaved African Man in Boston Helped Save Generations from Smallpox | HISTORY

In the early 1700s, Onesimus shared a revolutionary way to prevent smallpox.

www.history.com

The Story Of Onesimus, The 18th-Century Slave Who Helped Usher In The Age Of Vaccines

When a smallpox outbreak hit Boston in 1721, Onesimus came up with a genius plan to help.

allthatsinteresting.com

BS: Edward Jenner - Wikipedia