The history of Yellow Fever in the 19th century is fascinating. The disease, whose cause and cure was unknown at the time, was feared throughout the Americas. I have long been a student of the history of Yellow Fever since I lived in Norfolk, Virginia, which experienced its own calamitous outbreak in the 1800s. Anyone doing a casual reading of Buenos Aires history quickly learns that the 1871 was a critical event in the city’s history. It led the wealthy to flee San Telmo for the northern neighborhoods, giving cause to erect some of the city’s most incredible architecture in Barrio Norte. Learn more about the outbreak of 1871 Yellow Fever outbreak in Buenos Aires.
July 11th, 2005 at 7:34 pm
[…] Jeff Barry discusses the history of the Irish in Argentina as well as the impact of Buenos Aires’ 1871 Yellow Fever Epidemic. […]
July 26th, 2005 at 4:21 pm
If you’re really interested in the epidemic, there is a thorough study (plus diary entries of that time… early blogging, I guess) in the magazine “Todo es Historia,” Dec 1967. Lots of copies can be found floating around the used book stores on Corrientes. The article is listed on the cover – 1871: Peste en Buenos Aires.
Different sources quote different numbers, and to this day no one is sure of the exact toll on the population. 13,500 total seems like the figure people generally agree on. For me, the scary thing is not the number of monthly dead but DAILY dead. Imagine reading the newspaper every day to find out 170 died yesterday, 150 the day before, etc… that would make me want to run away as well!
July 27th, 2005 at 1:52 am
Robert – thanks for the tip on the Dec ’67 issue of “Todo es Historia”….I’m usually in those bookstores on Corrientes at least once a week. Indeed, actually, I should just start buying a lot of the old issues. It’s an interesting publication.
Regarding the daily death toll and people fleeing the diseased areas, I know that in the southern states of the US during the Yellow Fever epidemics that the outskirts of some towns were guarded by armed patrols to keep people from leaving the towns. Scary.