Onesimus Tells Boston About Inoculation

Coming to Wonder People on 21 November 2026.

In the bustling, plague-ridden streets of 1716 Boston, Onesimus, an enslaved West African, witnesses the devastating spread of smallpox. He shares ancient inoculation practices from his homeland with his owner, the influential Cotton Mather. Initially met with skepticism and public outcry, Mather and later Dr. Zabdiel Boylston brave ridicule and danger to implement the radical procedure. Through their persistent efforts and Boylston's meticulous trials, the community slowly begins to accept this life-saving innovation, offering a beacon of hope against the epidemic.

About this story

Length

10 illustrated pages

Who appears

• Onesimus — Enslaved West African, knowledgeable in traditional medicine
• Cotton Mather — Prominent Puritan minister, intellectual, Onesimus's owner
• Dr. Zabdiel Boylston — Boston physician, initially skeptical, later champion of inoculation

What happens on 21 November 2026

This story is finished and scheduled. On 21 November 2026 it opens here in full — every page illustrated — as part of Wonder People. Nothing on this page is a placeholder: the story exists, it has been reviewed, and this is its address.

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