The Impact of Epidemic Disease upon European History

(3 Credit Hours) · Undergraduate

Epidemic disease has been a basic human condition over the last 5,000 years. The frequency and the impact of epidemics have varied considerably over time, however. In Europe two periods stand out as particularly disease-ridden: the early Middle Ages (sixth to eighth centuries) and the Renaissance and Early Modern period (mid- fourteenth to late seventeenth centuries). In both cases the increased morbidity sprang from the introduction of new diseases, primarily plague (the precise nature of which remains unknown). Then, beginning in the eighteenth century, Europe experienced an unprecedented demographic transition. Overall mortality declined and though fertility rated also began to decline, sustained population growth began. Reasons are debated but it is beyond doubt that the disappearance of plague and generally increased disease control played a crucial role in the process. First, the course aims at providing students with a chronological outline of shifting disease patterns and a basic knowledge of the concepts and theories of historical epidemiology. This will involve analysis of original source materials to demonstrate the difficulties involved in retrospective diagnosis. Also, considering that today epidemiology is for all practical purposes a statistical discipline, it remains important for students to realize how limited is representative quantitative information from pre- modern times. Third, the course will provide an analysis of how European society responded to epidemics. In broad historical perspective the ebb and flow of epidemic disease was a key factor in the demographic development in Europe. Until recently, recurring mortality crises would regularly cause dramatic population decline. Ob- viously, epidemic disease - and plague in particular - was a key factor in demographic growth and decline. But epidemics also worked to shape social relations, cultural norms and values and political institutions and practices, the rise of public health being the obvious and most important example.