Pilgrim Health Challenges: Disease and Mortality in Early New England

The Plymouth colonists (1620–21) suffered catastrophic mortality (~50% died first winter) due to:

• Scurvy: Vitamin C deficiency (no fresh produce); bleeding gums, poor wound healing, death.
• Infectious diseases: Smallpox, measles, whooping cough, typhoid fever, dysentery—exacerbated by malnutrition, crowding, poor sanitation.
• Tuberculosis: Endemic, reactivated by stress.
• Exposure: Cold, wet housing; inadequate clothing.

Native Americans (Wampanoag) had been decimated by prior epidemics (1616–19), leaving cleared land but also removing potential allies. Survival improved with Wampanoag assistance (agriculture, diplomacy) and supply ships. Modern understanding: nutrition, sanitation, vaccination, and antibiotics would have prevented most deaths.