Cholera and Britain’s First Impressions

Medicine Through Time – John Snow and Cholera, 1813-58

In this course, Professor Pamela Gilbert (University of Florida) looks at the 1854 cholera outbreak in England and the role played by John Snow in the pandemic. In the first module, we look at Britain’s first impressions of cholera, before in the second module turning to consider the improvements that were made to sanitation in 19th century England. In the third module, we look at John Snow’s works, including, most importantly, his On the Method of Communication of Cholera (1849). In the fourth module, we look at Snow’s involvement in the cholera outbreak surrounding the Broad Street Pump in 1854, before in the fifth and final module looking at the relationship between cholera and maps in Britain and India.

Cholera and Britain’s First Impressions

In this lecture, we look at Britain’s first impressions of cholera, focusing in particular on: (i) the seven cholera pandemics that have afflicted the world; (ii) what cholera is, how it is transmitted, and its symptoms; (iii) what was thought to cause cholera in the 19th century; (iv) attempts to prevent the spread of cholera, including the use of quarantine; (v) the first instances of cholera in England in 1831 and how the government responded to its spread; (vi) the use of the bodies of cholera victims for anatomical dissections, and the response of the population to this; (vii) the conflict between civic authorities and religious authorities in the response to cholera; and (viii) the significance of class to the differing perspectives on cholera.