AD 1616: Yellow fever kills two-thirds of the Wampanoag

European traders carry yellow fever to the Wampanoag Nation, located on the Atlantic coast between what is now known as Provincetown, Massachusetts, and Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island. An estimated 45,000 die—two-thirds of the nation. Elders and children are hardest hit. The loss of elders endangers the language, as does the loss of children to carry it on. The diminished population is less able to defend its territory and its culture from incursions.

Theme

Epidemics

Region

Northeast