The Great Plague Scare of 1720 From 1720 to 1722, the French region of Provence and surrounding areas experienced one of the last major epidemics of plague to strike West- ern Europe. The Plague of Provence was a major disaster that left in its wake as many as 126,000 deaths, as well as new understandings about the nature of contagion and the best ways to manage its threat. In this transnational study, Cindy Ermus focuses on the social, commercial, and diplomatic impact of the epidemic beyond French borders, examining reactions to this public health crisis from Italy to Great Britain to Spain and the overseas colonies. She reveals how a crisis in one part of the globe can transcend geographic boundaries and influence society, politics, and public health policy in regions far from the epicenter of disaster. cindy ermus is Assistant Professor of History at the University of Texas at San Antonio. Published online by Cambridge University Press GLOBAL HEALTH HISTORIES Series Editor: Sanjoy Bhattacharya, University of York Global Health Histories aims to publish outstanding and innovative schol- arship on the history of public health, medicine and science worldwide. By studying the many ways in which the impact of ideas of health and well-being on society were measured and described in different global, international, regional, national and local contexts, books in the series reconceptualise the nature of empire, the nation state, extra-state actors and different forms of globalisation. The series showcases new approaches to writing about the connected histories of health and medicine, humanitarianism, and global eco- nomic and social development. Published online by Cambridge University Press The Great Plague Scare of 1720 Disaster and Diplomacy in the Eighteenth-Century Atlantic World cindy ermus University of Texas at San Antonio Published online by Cambridge University Press University Printing House, Cambridge CB2 8BS, United Kingdom One Liberty Plaza, 20th Floor, New York, NY 10006, USA 477 Williamstown Road, Port Melbourne, VIC 3207, Australia 314–321, 3rd Floor, Plot 3, Splendor Forum, Jasola District Centre, New Delhi – 110025, India 103 Penang Road, #05–06/07, Visioncrest Commercial, Singapore 238467 Cambridge University Press is part of the University of Cambridge. It furthers the University’s mission by disseminating knowledge in the pursuit of education, learning, and research at the highest international levels of excellence. www.cambridge.org Information on this title: www.cambridge.org/9781108489546 DOI: 10.1017/9781108784733 © Cindy Ermus 2023 This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the provisions of relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part may take place without the written permission of Cambridge University Press. First published 2023 Printed in the United Kingdom by TJ Books Limited, Padstow Cornwall A catalogue record for this publication is available from the British Library. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Ermus, Cindy, 1979– author. Title: The Great Plague scare of 1720 : disaster and diplomacy in the eighteenth-century Atlantic world / Cindy Ermus, University of Lethbridge, Alberta. Description: Cambridge, United Kingdom ; New York, NY : Cambridge University Press, 2023. | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2022026117 | ISBN 9781108489546 (hardback) | ISBN 9781108784733 (ebook) Subjects: LCSH: Plague – Europe – History – 18th century. | Plague of Provence, France, 1720–1722. | Epidemics – Europe – History – 18th century. | Disasters – Social aspects – Europe – History – 18th century. | Disasters – Social aspects. Classification: LCC RC178.A1 E76 2023 | DDC 614.5/732094–dc23/eng/20220610 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022026117 ISBN 978-1-108-48954-6 Hardback Cambridge University Press has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of URLs for external or third-party internet websites referred to in this publication and does not guarantee that any content on such websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate. Published online by Cambridge University Press For Arlo, who showed me the meaning of life Published online by Cambridge University Press Published online by Cambridge University Press Contents Acknowledgments page ix List of Abbreviations xiii Introduction 1 1 Plague in Provence 13 A Port of Entry for Contagion?: Plague Appears in Southern France 16 “Les funestes ravages de la contagion”: Plague Spreads in Provence 28 Crisis Management and “Disaster Centralism” during the Plague of Provence 53 2 “L’état le plus exposé”: The Plague of Provence in Genoa and Italy 65 Public Health Organization and the Magistrato di sanità in Genoa 70 Conflicting Narratives and the Invisible Commonwealth: How News of Plague Was Received in Genoa and Europe 79 Reactions to the Plague of Provence in Genoa and Italy 86 3 “A Scheme so Barbarous and so Destructive”: Responses to the Plague of Provence in London 103 The Great European Plague Scare of 1720 in England 105 “On the Repeated Outcries of the People”: Popular Reactions to the Threat of Plague and Resistance to Sanitary Measures in London 116 South Sea Scheme Men, Franco-Spanish Tyranny, and Tit-for-Tat Diplomacy 133 vii Published online by Cambridge University Press viii Contents 4 The Spanish Plague That Never Was: The Plague of Provence in Cádiz and Spain 141 War and the Gallicization of the Carrera de Indias in the Early Eighteenth Century 144 Reactions to the Plague of Provence in Spain 156 Health Inspections and the Fondeo Search in the Port of Cádiz 164 Disaster Centralism in Spain during the Plague of Provence 171 5 Entangled Empires: The Great Plague Scare in the Colonies 177 Responses to the Plague of Provence in the French Colonies 181 Economic Interests and Plague-Time Violence in the Caribbean 192 Anti-French Policy and the Plague of Provence in the Spanish Colonies 202 Epilogue 214 Bibliography 220 Index 247 Published online by Cambridge University Press Acknowledgments A lot has happened in the ten years since I began research for this project. I earned my PhD; I moved to beautiful Canada for my first job as an assistant professor; I later accepted a new position back in the US; I married the love of my life; I had my sweet son. In that time, and in those travels, so many people have been part of the journey. Some have only been there a short time, while others have been there all along. All have helped, in their own ways, to make this book – this part of me – possible. Taking it back to the beginning of my career as a historian, I would like to thank the faculty and staff in the Department of History at Florida International University, especially Joseph Patrouch, Darden Pyron, Felice Lifshitz, Howard Rock, and so many others, who were among the first to encourage me to further my studies, and who helped to stir in me a fervent, life-long passion for history. I would also like to thank my mentors and teachers at the Department of History and the Institute on Napoleon and the French Revolution at Florida State University. Above all, I would like to thank my advisor and friend Darrin McMahon, whose expertise, patience, humor, dedication, and invaluable mentorship helped shape me as a scholar. He gets credit for encouraging me to pursue my interests in the history of disasters, and, years later, for agreeing to be the reader at my wedding! I could not have asked for a more inspiring and dedicated mentor, and for that, I am truly grateful. I would also like to give special thanks to Rafe Blau- farb. To say that I might not have completed this study without him is not an overstatement, since he helped direct me toward a topic on the 1720 plague. For his continuing support through the years, I owe him a debt of gratitude. I am grateful to all the programs and institutions that helped fund the research for this project, beginning with National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Institute on Napoleon and the French Revolution at Florida State University. Financial support also came ix Published online by Cambridge University Press