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Now is a good time to share a story I found in the Museum of Marseille. In the early 18th century, Marseille was France's gateway to the the orient - a fast-growing bustling port. 1/8
Plagues were common in that era, & news would spread across the Med about which cities were infected. But Marseille port authorities had a pretty good system - they would bar entry to the port for any ship that either came from an infected city, or showed signs of disease. 2/8
Those quarantined crews would have to go to the nearby hosptial islands of Frioul or Jarre, and wait out until they were proven to be disease-free. Frioul is beautiful (and now plague-free), by the way. 3/8
In 1719 the Grand-Saint-Antoine, a merchant ship, sets out to the Middle East to bring back silk to trade in Marseille. However, Damascus was by this point in the grips of a plague and the crew became infected. On the journey back, 9 die. The captain must decide what to do. 4/8
Captain Chataud stops near Toulon (50km from Marseille), to discuss plans with the venture's other stakeholders, who stand to lose enormous sums of money if the ships contents aren't traded. After a brief foray to Italy (where theyre refused entry), the ship heads to Marseille. 5
Somehow, the captain obtains access to the port from the health authorities & offloads its precious cargo. Eventually, after illness spreads to sailors & porters, the ship is banished to quarantine. But it is too late - Marseille has the plague. By 1721, half of the city will die
So how could an infected ship dock? Well, the captain hid the illness. But also, Marseille's mayor held a major share in the venture. He pressured the health authorities to not apply the rules. By electing someone who put personal profit before public health, 100,000 died. 7/8
So: let's not let croneyism & capitalism throw us under the bus for profit this time. #COVID19
My main source is memories from @musee_histoire in Marseille (worth a visit), but the wikipedia page on the Great Plague of Marseille is also worth reading: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peste_de_Marseille_(1720) 8/8
My main source is memories from @musee_histoire in Marseille (worth a visit), but the wikipedia page on the Great Plague of Marseille is also worth reading: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peste_de_Marseille_(1720) 8/8
Addendum:
Captain Chataud served 3 years on Chateau d'If (Marseille's island-prison made famous in the Count of Monte Cristo).
Jean-Baptiste Estelle, mayor of Marseille and a member of the aristocracy, was not convicted, and was made a lord by the King in 1723.
#AuxArmesCitoyens
Captain Chataud served 3 years on Chateau d'If (Marseille's island-prison made famous in the Count of Monte Cristo).
Jean-Baptiste Estelle, mayor of Marseille and a member of the aristocracy, was not convicted, and was made a lord by the King in 1723.
#AuxArmesCitoyens
