Onesimus was a man from West Africa who was enslaved by Cotton Mather. During an 18th-century smallpox epidemic, Onesimus suggested to Mather a method of preventing the disease that originated in his homeland. Onesimus’s method helped pave the way for scientists and epidemiologists to discover the precursor to contemporary inoculation.
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Onesimus Character Timeline in Caste
The timeline below shows where the character Onesimus appears in Caste. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter Fifteen: The Urgent Necessity of a Bottom Rung
...people quickly began dying. Cotton Mather, a minister and scientist, owned an African man named Onesimus, who told him about a procedure he’d undergone in his homeland, Africa, to protect him...
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