The colonists carried endemic pathogens, such as smallpox, to which the Native Americans had no prior exposure. They suffered high mortality because of lacking acquired immunity to the new infectious diseases. In addition, the English introduced Native Americans to alcohol. After the English passed increasingly harsh laws against Indian culture and religion, encroached on their land, legally and illegally, many of the Nipmuc joined Metacomet's rebellion in 1675. But this was disastrous, as they were defeated by the English. Many of the Nipmuc were interned on Deer Island in Boston Harbor and died of disease and malnutrition, and others were executed or sold into slavery in the West Indies.