Cholera riots
Cholera riots are civil disturbances associated with an outbreak or epidemic of cholera.
In Russia
Cholera riots (Холерные бунты in
The riots were caused by the anti-cholera measures, undertaken by the
Further cholera riots in 1892 were aggressively suppressed by the tsarist government.[1]
On August 29, 1909 The New York Times reported more cholera riots in Russia.[2][3]
In Great Britain
Asiatic
A cry was raised of 'Burn the house; down with the burking shop'. Shavings, fir, tar, barrels and staves, were quickly procured and lighted, and within five minutes the back wall fell down with a tremendous crash. The building was completely destroyed, and had not the mob been kept in check by the sight of the military ... other acts of violence would, no doubt, have been committed.[5]
Three men were brought to trial for riotous behaviour, and sentenced to jail in Aberdeen for twelve months, with the judge placing blame on the medical profession for its gross negligence in dealing with the disease.[4]
The main epidemic in Britain occurred a year later. There was widespread public fear, and the political and medical response to the disease was variable and inadequate. In the summer of 1832, a series of cholera riots occurred in various towns and cities throughout Britain, frequently directed against the authorities, doctors, or both.[6] 72 cholera riots occurred throughout the British Isles, 14 of which made reference to body-snatchers ("Burkers"). Anatomical schools were not specifically targeted, although individual physicians and hospitals were, as they saw the medical authorities as acting in coordination with the state to purposefully kill and reduce the population of the poor and "[weed] out the weak";[7] a doctor in Ballyshannon said that the crowds believed that "the doctors ... were to have 10 guineas a day: £5 of every one they killed; and to poison without mercy."[7]
The city of
The widespread cholera rioting in Liverpool was thus as much related to local anatomical issues as it was to the national epidemic. The riots ended relatively abruptly, largely in response to an appeal by the Roman Catholic clergy read from church pulpits, and also published in the local press. In addition, a respected local doctor, James Collins, published a passionate appeal for calm. The Liverpool Cholera Riots of 1832 demonstrate the complex social responses to epidemic disease, as well as the fragile interface between the public and the medical profession.[6]
In the same year, riots were reported in Exeter as people objected to the burial of cholera-infected bodies in local graveyards.[8] Gravediggers were attacked. The local authorities had instituted regulations for the disposal of cholera-infected corpses and their clothes and bedding. Even the collection of clothing could result in riot or disorder as family and friends argued over the amount of compensation to be paid.
In Hungary
In July 1831, a cholera uprising of 40,000 peasants broke out in the territory of Upper Hungary (today's eastern Slovakia) in more than 150 villages and small towns.[9][10]
In Germany
In 1893 fatal riots broke out in
In Zimbabwe
In December 2008, baton-wielding riot police broke up protests in Harare and detained dozens, as the death toll of a cholera epidemic neared 600 in Zimbabwe's worsening health and economic crises. Trade unionists protesting against limits on cash withdrawals were beaten by security forces in Harare, while police also dispersed doctors and nurses who tried to hand in a petition against the collapse of the health system.[12]
References
- S2CID 13648666.
- ^ "The New York Times from New York, New York on August 29, 1909 · Page 1". 29 August 1909. Retrieved 3 September 2018.
- ^ Cohn 2018, p. 207.
- ^ a b Cohn 2018, p. 201.
- ^ Quoted in Cohn 2018, p. 201
- ^ a b c Sean Burrell. "The Liverpool Cholera Epidemic of 1832 and Anatomical Dissection—Medical Mistrust and Civil Unrest". oxfordjournals.org. Archived from the original on 2006-01-06.
- ^ S2CID 152091121.
- ^ David Cornforth. "Exeter Memories – Cholera in 1832". exetermemories.co.uk.
- ^ "The Revolt of Peasants in Eastern Slovakia in 1831". ARDsytém.
- ^ "The Memorial of the Revolt of Peasants in eastern Slovakia". Monuments of Remembrance.
- ^ "CHOLERA RIOT IN HAMBURG; SANITARY OFFICERS AGAIN ATTACKED BY A MOB. One of Them Knocked Down and Kicked and Trampled to Death – A Policeman Also Killed by the Infuriated Crowd – Troops Charged the Mob with Fixed Bayonets and Dispersed It, but Not Until It Had Injured Several Persons by Its Violence" (PDF). Retrieved 25 June 2017.
- ^ "AFP: Riot police break up Zimbabwe protests as cholera deaths mount". Retrieved 25 June 2017.
- Cohn, Samuel Kline Jr. (9 March 2018). Epidemics: Hate and Compassion from the Plague of Athens to AIDS. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780192551580.