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European colonists witnessed and wrote about the devastating effects of smallpox on American Indian populations. Following are two descriptions by English colonial leaders in North America during the seventeenth century: "For the natives, they are near all dead of smallpox, so as the Lord hathe [has] cleared our title to what we possess." —John Winthrop, first governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony "[Thank God for sending] smallpox, etc. to lessen their numbers: so that the English, in comparison with the Spaniard, have but little Indian blood to answer for." —John Archdale, governor of South Carolina, 1695–1696

What do these quotations tell you about English attitudes toward American Indians?

User Neph
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Answer:

The quotations show that the English did not see the spread of smallpox as a bad development. On the contrary, they were delighted by this turn of events. The English military in the Americas, in fact, helped spread the disease. Some English commanders urged their troops to try to spread smallpox by giving infected blankets to the Indians. Because smallpox and other diseases wiped out millions, the English were able to capture territories once controlled by American Indians.

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User Alicia Tang
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These two quotations from John Winthrop and John Archdale tells us the the British despise the Americans Indians: they are thankful for the diseases that are killing them fast, and believed is a work of God who want the British to rule and poses that land.

User MagGGG
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