This article explores the tensions between well-intentioned humanitarianism and coercive colonialism during smallpox outbreaks in eighteenth-century Guatemala, when the state extended inoculation programmes to its predominant, culturally diverse Maya communities. Evidence from anti-epidemic campaigns shows public debates broadly comparable to the current COVID-19 crisis: debates about the measurably higher mortality rates for indigenous people and other marginalized groups; debates about the extent of the state’s responsibility for the health of its peoples; and debates on whether or not coercion and violence should be used to ensure compliance with quarantines and public health campaigns. While inoculations provided medical assistance and material help to Maya communities, and resulted in demonstrably lower mortality rates from smallpox, at the same time they functioned as avenues for the expansion of colonial power to intervene in the daily lives of people in those communities, characterized by colonial actors as necessary for their own good, and for the broader public good.

中文翻译：

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COVID-19 时代的流行病、土著社区和公共卫生：来自危地马拉殖民地天花接种运动的观点

本文探讨了 18 世纪危地马拉天花爆发期间善意的人道主义和强制性殖民主义之间的紧张关系，当时该国将接种计划扩展到其主要的、多元文化的玛雅社区。来自抗流行病运动的证据显示，公众辩论与当前的 COVID-19 危机大体相当：关于土著人民和其他边缘化群体死亡率明显更高的辩论；关于国家对其人民健康的责任范围的辩论；以及是否应使用胁迫和暴力来确保遵守隔离和公共卫生运动的辩论。虽然接种疫苗为玛雅社区提供了医疗援助和物质帮助，并明显降低了天花的死亡率，