Yellow Fever Outbreak (apr 19, 1647 – oct 19, 1648)

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The first yellow fever epidemic arose in the years 1647-1648. This happened alongside the rapid sugar expansion. Slaves were being brought over to the Americas from Africa to work on the plantations, but they brought foreign diseases with them. Barbados, Guadeloupe, and St. Kitts were the first colonies to experience the horrible disease during the previously stated years. This yellow fever epidemic marked the beginning of a devastating time during the English sugar expansion; one that would spread and last until the 1850s.
I think it is important to see the negative effects of a material good’s history because not everything can be good in this world. Slaves were exported over to work the plantations, but there were consequences that accompanied that. Plantation owners were probably not aware of the disease the slaves carried, but I would say it was certainly a lesson learned. Yellow fever became an endemic, and many people died from the disease due to lack of treatment. For this reason, the significant expansion of sugar during this time did not, and could not, succeed without a significant number of casualties.

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