In the 18th and 19th
\ncenturies, it was dubbed ‘the Levant affliction’, the Wallachian disease’, or
\n‘the sticky disease’, believed to be one of the most dangerous ailments per
\nnumber of victims, and for the lack of treatment. It was spread by fleas hiding
\nin the fur of rats, with the bubonic plague being the most widespread form. It
\nmanifested itself by high fever, blisters, vomiting, hemorrhage, and
\nhallucinations, resulting in death. <\/p>\n
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\n
<\/p>\n
The plague was not a constant
\npresence in the Romanian Principalities, nor a center for its spread. Every
\ntime it spread here, it was brought over by traders, soldiers, pilgrims, and
\nother travelers from the Orient, or by caravans or ships. Historian Sorin
\nGrigoruta, with the A. D. Xenopol History Institute of Iasi, wrote a book about
\nthe plague and attempts to contain it. He also wrote about how the disease was
\nperceived and the way these perceptions reflected mentalities in centuries
\npast.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
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Sorin Grigoruta: In the centuries before the 19th, the
\ngeneral conception of the plague was that it was caused by imbalances in
\nnature, most likely caused by astronomical factors such as the conjunction of
\nplanets, eclipses, comets, but also by disasters such as earthquakes and
\nfloods. It was seen as a divine punishment for the sins of mankind. In early 19th
\ncentury, while still holding on to previous misconceptions, people in the
\nRomanian Principalities started taking into account the human element in the
\nspread of the plague. After many waves of the epidemic, empirical observation
\nstarted making a contribution to action taken against the spread of the
\ndisease. The only methods so far were running away from the centers of
\ninfection or the banishment of the infected.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
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The plague was mostly an urban
\ndisease. The measures taken by the authorities would be considered repressive
\nby today’s standards. Here is Sorin Grigoruta at the microphone.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
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Sorin Grigoruta: Aware of the fact that urban crowds increased the
\nrisk of contamination, the authorities took drastic measures to limit human
\ncontact. What we see back then were courts, schools, churches, and cafes being
\nclosed down, and curfews being imposed, especially at night. Around 1785, the
\nruler ordered his Sword Bearer to close down coffee houses, with coffee only
\nbeing sold at counters open into the streets. A night curfew was imposed
\nbecause the ill and the dead were taken out of the city at that time. It was
\nnot a pleasant view, and the measure was taken in order to diminish the
\nemotional effect that it would have had upon the rest of the population.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
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<\/p>\n
Isolation was another measure taken
\nagainst the plague. Here with details is Sorin Grigoruta. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
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<\/p>\n
Sorin Grigoruta: The other measure taken by the authorities was to
\nisolate infected houses. The first form of isolation was to lock the diseased
\ninto their homes. I would mention that this method was not limited to the
\nRomanian Principalities, it could be found all over Europe. If someone
\nsurvived, fine, if not, everyone in the house got infected and died. The second
\nform of isolation was that of taking everyone, infected or not, out of the
\nhouse, and getting the house disinfected, so to say. This could be simply
\nairing it or cleaning it up, but could go as far as partial or total
\ndestruction, with fire being most often the purifying agent. Stefan
\nEpiscupescu, who dubbed the plague ‘spirit of death’, wrote in 1824 what the
\nmeans for protecting against the plague were. I quote from what he wrote: ‘of
\nall the cures known to the physician’s knowledge we have water, vinegar, and
\nfire as the strongest and most powerful against the affliction of the plague.
\nWater washes and cleanses the affliction, vinegar’s vapors weakens the rush of
\nthe affliction, while the fire draws out the plague’s spirit itself away from
\nafar, burning and extinguishing it.’ <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
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<\/p>\n
The most effective method of
\ncombating the plague in Western Europe was quarantining. The first European
\nquarantine was in the port of Ragusa, which compelled every ship coming from
\nthe Orient to stay at anchor outside the port for 40 days. The idea was
\nimitated by other European ports and cities as well. On dry land, the Austrian
\nsanitary blockade was extremely effective, and was based on military borders.
\nThe Russian quarantine was temporary, held only for the duration of the
\nepidemic, and was largely ineffective. In the Romanian space, the quarantine
\nwas used, also in a less than effective way. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
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\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Sorin Grigoruta: Without consciously aiming at the factor that
\nspread the plague, gradually, all the measures that isolated the sick or the
\nsuspected victims started yielding results. As a result, the next step was to
\ncheck and isolate for a few days the people that came from the areas affected
\nby the plague, be it within the country or from abroad. At the same time, a system of health messages
\nand notes started circulating, attesting to the fact that the person did not
\narrive from an area unaffected by the plague. This is how domestic or foreign
\nquarantines came to be. They were known in domestic documents as lazarettos,
\nand these isolation grounds were improvised in the points of entry into cities
\nor villages. A few houses were requisitioned to house the quarantined, as well
\nas the personnel in charge of treatment.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
The plague disappeared from the
\nRomanian Principalities around mid-19th century, alongside the
\nappearance of the modern state and its hard borders. <\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The plague afflicted Europe for many centuries, leaving dozens of millions dead<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":127,"featured_media":83019,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[41141],"tags":[42816,42815,42817,42818],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-130617","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-history-show","tag-century","tag-plague","tag-rats","tag-xenopol"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n