"That Dreadful Distemper": Smallpox, Quakers, and Inoculation in Enlightenment Britain

Abstract

abstract:Quakers were early adopters and promoters of inoculation, but the procedure became a contested issue among Friends. This study analyzes eighteenth-century Quaker writings on inoculation, which emphasized both human reason and divine revelation. Highlighting the diversity of ideas about the meaning of smallpox and the value of inoculation, the essay demonstrates how debates over inoculation drew Quakers into broader discourses surrounding religion, disease, and medicine in Enlightenment Britain.