The first recognized epidemic of yellow fever / by G.M. Findlay.

  • Findlay, G. M.
Date:
1941
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: The first recognized epidemic of yellow fever / by G.M. Findlay. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    great dearth of victuals in these islands followed presently a great mortality (whether it were the plague or pestilent fever, it killed in three days) that in Barbados there died six thousand and in Christophers of French and English, near as many and in other islands proportionable. The report of this coming to us, by a vessel which came from Fayal, the court published an order that all vessels which should come from the West Indies should stay at the castle and not come on shore, nor put any goods on shore, without license of three of the council, on pain of one hundred pounds, nor any to go aboard, etc., except they continued there, etc., on like penalty. The like order was sent to Salem and other haven towns.” The order is of considerable interest since it repre¬ sents the first instance in which quarantine regulations were applied in the New World. The reasons for promulgating the order (cf. Records of the Governor and Company of the Massachusetts Bay, 1853) were stated to be “ For as much as this Court is credibly informed yt ye plague or like grevious infectious disease, hath lately exceedgly raged in ye Barbadoes, Christophers and other islands in ye West Indies, to ye great depopulatg of those, it is therefore ordred, yt all our own or othr vessels comeing from any pts of ye West Indies to Boston harbor shall stop and come to an anchor before they come at ye Castle . . . .” It was nearly two years, that is to say in the autumn of 1649, before the order was repealed. “ The Court doth think meete that the order concerning the stoping of West Indie ships at the Castle should hereby be repealed, seeing it hath pleased God to stay the sickness there.” Two letters throw further light on the outbreak. Mr. Richard Vines, who had lately removed from New England to Barbados, wrote to Governor Winthrop, giving him some account of the epidemic. His letter, dated “ Barbadoes, April 20, 1648,” states “ The sickness was an absolute plague, very infectious and destroying insomuch that in our parish there was buried twenty in a week and many weeks together fifteen or sixteen. It first seized on the ablest men, both for account and ability of body. Our New England men here had their share and so had all nations, especially Dutchmen, of whom died a great company, even the wisest of them. The contagion is well nigh over.” That this last statement was not correct is shown by a further letter dated “ Salem, 17th December, 1648,” from Lucy Downing, of Boston, to John Winthrop, Jnr., “ My 2 sonns Jo and Robin I bless God are safe returned but Robin in respect of the loss of his master, and Jo in respect to the sad Sickness still at Barbados are both now gone to Boston to see which waye Providence will dispose for them.” It is thus clear that an epidemic disease began in Barbados in September, 1647 : it was fatal in three days. A similar disease occurred in St. Christopher and thence spread to Guadeloupe in August, 1648. Here also it killed in three days. The epidemic was still present in Barbados in December, 1648, and apparently had not disappeared till the early autumn of 1649 when the quarantine regulations in New England were at last relaxed.