Thesis

Cholera and its influence on the public health movement in Glasgow : 1832 - 1848/49

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Awarding institution
  • University of Strathclyde
Date of award
  • 1976
Thesis identifier
  • T150
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Abstract
  • The Romans of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd centuries A.D. had a great knowledge of and interest in municipal affairs, for as they conquered or founded communities, their governors had to look to the welfare of numerous peoples enclosed within the walls of towns. Thus, they were most careful in the selection of the site of any new town, having regard to its situation and aspect. The Roman historian Vitruvius, described the methods used in the decision processes before even an army camp was built. A religious rite was performed and the livers of sacrificed animals were examined to see if the water and soil of the area were of a health giving quality. When the town was laid out, great care was taken to position the drains and sewers correctly. Local laws enforced sanitary and public health measures and so prevented anyone interfering with the general good of the community. In Rome itself, every home had a constant supply of water as well as drainage to a common sewer. Municipal concern in sanitary matters was to pass with end of the Roman Empire and so far as Glasgow was concerned, the "Dark Ages" were to last till well on in the 19th century. The city of Glasgow in the 19th century was changing as a result of the coming of the "Industrial Revolution". It emerged from a primitive economic condition to become one of the greatest industrial cities in the United Kingdom. As the city grew, it experienced stresses and strains which could not be dealt with by the existing » social and administrative machinery. The worst effects of uncontrolled growth were not experienced till after the Napoleonic Wars, then a number of interrelated factors came into play to produce frequent epidemics and increasing death rates. As typhus fever killed more and more wage earners, their families had to be provided for from public funds, so the authorities were forced to pay attention to municipal affairs as the Roman authorities had done centuries before. The coming of Cholera in 1832 heightened this concern, for the sharp impact of Cholera on the city forced the corporation to carry out public health measures in order to limit the disease’s progress. Moreover, Cholera could attack both the high born and the lowly, for unlike typhus, which was generally a disease of the poor. Cholera was no respecter of rank. The public health reform movement developed both in Scotland and England, and its first real successes were the Scottish Poor Law Amendment Act of 1845 and the Public Health Act of 1848 for England and Wales. Chapter one of this dissertation describes the growth of Glasgow from the late 18th century till about 1850. Increasing immigration and population growth produced a demand for housing which was not met by speculative builders. The overcrowding which resulted, produced insanitary living conditions and both these conditions were neglected by the authorities. Free enterprise capitalism experienced the trade booms and slumps which were to be experienced at intervals throughout the future. Poverty, during the slumps, was to produce the other factor, which together with overcrowding, insanitary conditions and a lack of water supply, resulted in the increase of epidemic disease and rising death rates within the city. Chapter two traces the movements of the Cholera epidemics of 1832 and 1848/49 and describes the full impact of that disease on the city. It tries to capture the dramatic nature of the disease and describe its effects on the behaviour of the people and the Corporation of Glasgow. Chapters three and four examine the city authorities efforts to deal with the increasing destitution and disease among the citizens of and the immigrants to Glasgow. The development of public health measures over the period is described both at local and national levels. The final chapter describes Cholera as it affected other cities throughout the United Kingdom and relate and compare their experiences to Glasgow's. A brief examination of water, housing and other amenities in the Northern England cities of Leeds, Liverpool and Manchester is made in order that a comparison can be made with Glasgow. Disease, with special reference to Cholera and public health in the City of Glasgow, are the main subjects of this dissertation.
Advisor / supervisor
  • Treble, James H.
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