* The Plague of America William Langer wrote that the Bubonic Plague was "the worst disaster that had ever befallen upon mankind." During the 14th century, about 30% of the European population died from its effects. The Europeans believed that the horror was caused by God punishing them for their sins. We now know that it was rats and fleas that carried the disease coupled with the hygienic shortcomings of the time. There is another plague that is barely spoken of, that is the spread of disease to native-Americans which was carried by the settlers of the New World. This plague caused 90% of the population to die and was refereed to by the governor of the Massachusetts colony John Winthrop as "an act of god." Winthrop wrote to a friend in England, "So as God hath thereby cleared our title to our place, those who remain in these parts, not being more than fifty, have put themselves under our protection." The Europeans brought with them diseases that the native people were incapable of handling. Europeans refused to bathe, believing it to be unhealthy, and they never took their clothes off. In fact, the natives complained that they smelled and tried to get the settlers to bathe but had little success. Furthermore, the Pilgrims brought with them animals that carried diseases such as cows and chickens. The results proved disastrous as only one in every twenty people survived the invasion from Europe. Although medical science has proven otherwise, the Europeans of the time still held steadfastly to the belief that this was an act of God being held out in their behalf. One settler proclaimed while speaking about the deaths of Native- Americans, "their enterprise failed, for it pleased God to effect these Indians with such a deadly sickness, that out of every 1000, over 950 of them had died, and many of them lay rotting above the ground for lack of burial." On the West Coast the devastation was similar. In 1769, it was estimated that there were 300,000 people living in California and by the end of the gold rush in 1849 only 30,000 remained. These cataclysmic events are treated in our textbooks as an example of American exceptionalism. "This great opportunity for a great social and political experiment may never come again," says the American Pageant. Another textbook states, "The American people have created a unique nation." What on earth is so unique? What did the natives do to deserve such a fate? The gracious acts of the indigenous people are quite remarkable. They told them how to grow corn, where to fish and where to hunt. This allowed the settlers to survive, however, they neglected to thank the natives. What can we learn from this? First, one must be very careful when any group says that their exploitation is an act of God. Second that America was conquered without regard for the people who lived there. It is estimated that over 14 million people lived in what we call the United States, but by 1900, fewer than one million remained. Today, we would describe this as ethnic cleansing. If anyone out there deserves reparations, it is Native-Americans. I pray that some day they get it. Sources for Article: Gary Nash, Red, White and Black Almon W. Lauber, Indian Slavery in Colonial Times Francis Jennings, The Invasion of America James Loewen, Lies My Teacher told Me .