Balmis Expedition for Vaccination

Date: November 30, 1803 • Location: Culleredo, Spain

An expedition led by Francisco Javier de Balmis departed A Coruña, Spain, with the aim of vaccinating millions in South America and Asia against smallpox.

The Royal Philanthropic Vaccine Expedition, commonly referred to as the Balmis Expedition, was a Spanish healthcare mission that lasted from 1803 to 1806, led by Dr Francisco Javier de Balmis, which vaccinated hundreds of thousands against smallpox in Spanish America, the Philippines, and China. The vaccine was transported through children: orphaned boys who sailed with the expedition and, for part of the journey, three enslaved girls from Cuba.