Health in Europe Health in Europe Throughout historyThroughout history

By David Petrushka, Steve Masline, Tyler Paratte, and Cole Segreti

Diet in middle agesDiet in middle ages

Nobles ate few vegetables◦Unprepared food

viewed as suspiciousOnly the poor ate

fruits and vegetablesDairy considered to be

a poor persons foodThese lack of proper

nutrition led to illness

1616thth and 17 and 17thth century diet century dietPoor

◦ Unvaried diet◦ Bread, fish, cheese,

vegetables◦ Barley or rye bread

Rich◦ Variety of meats◦ Sea food◦ Imported spices◦ Occasional fancy fruit but

rarely◦ White bread◦ New foods

Ice cream Bananas

1818thth Century Diet Century Diet

◦ Poor Early 18th c. ordinary men and

women depended on grain. Bread was the staff of life.

In years of poor harvests and soaring prices, food riots broke out.

VEGETABLES Rural and urban poor ate a large

quantity. Peas and beans were most common.

Fruit was uncommon and eaten in the summer months only

◦ Rich Consumption of meat was lower

in 1700 than it was in 1500. Meat became more expensive

Only eaten on holidays or special occasion

 

Food supply 16Food supply 16thth century century

Trade and industry flourished◦Caused influx of

peopleNot enough food for

poorSeries of bad

harvests in 1590◦People were starving

Food supply 18Food supply 18thth Century Century

Population steadily increasing

New foods introduced because of trade

Poor still having trouble scraping by

Only people benefiting from greater food supply was bourgeoisie and rich

Population fell

18-1918-19thth Century Food Century Food SupplySupply

Food easier to get by all◦ Prices dropped

New agricultural innovations led to more food◦ Seed drill◦ No more fallow land◦ Plow

People didn’t need to work all day for food◦ Key to industrial revolution

New crops helped sustain people◦ Potato and corn

Only 10% of people starved to death◦ Big improvement!◦ Longer life expectancy

(in the country)

DISEASES: THE BLACK DISEASES: THE BLACK DEATHDEATH

The most devastating disaster in European history.

1348-13501/3 of Europe’s population

died

DISEASES: THE BLACK DISEASES: THE BLACK DEATHDEATH

What led up to the Black Death?◦ The Little Ice Age

A small decrease in temperature shortened the growing seasons.

The shortened harvest brought in less food, which caused for malnourishment, which made them susceptible to the plague.

◦ The Population The population increased during the time leading

up to the Black Plague. The amount of paupers greatly increased, and

were not able to support themselves.

DISEASES: THE BLACK DISEASES: THE BLACK DEATHDEATH

Where did the plague come from?◦Originated from Asia◦The Mongols arrived in China in the

mid 13th century, and brought flea infested rats.

◦These rats went through Central Asia, and from there brought the plague to Caffa on the Black Sea.

DISEASES: THE BLACK DISEASES: THE BLACK DEATHDEATH

Reactions:◦ Some people stayed secluded from everyone in

hope to get through the tough times◦ Others partied all day by drinking and having sex.

Art:◦ The 14th century produced an artistic outburst in

new directions of art. Post plague art focused on pain and death Ars Moriendi: The Art of Dying

FRANCESCO TRAINI, TRIUMPH OF DEATHFRANCESCO TRAINI, TRIUMPH OF DEATH

DISEASES: SMALLPOXDISEASES: SMALLPOX

In 1519, Cortés landed at Veracruz on the Gulf of Mexico. ◦The Europeans brought with them bacteria

in which they were immune to, but the Aztecs were not, and faced the disaster of smallpox.

In 1530, Pizzaro invaded the Inca empire.◦Pizzaro was also lucky because like the

Aztecs, the Incas had no immunities, and succumbed to smallpox.

DISEASES: COLUMBIAN DISEASES: COLUMBIAN EXCHANGEEXCHANGE

Old World New World:Smallpox, Measles, Chicken Pox, Malaria, Yellow Fever, Influenza, The Common Cold

New World Old World:Syphilis

DISEASES: TREATMENTDISEASES: TREATMENT

Galen’s idea of the four bodily humors strongly influenced the treatment of diseases, by correcting diseases by fixing chemical imbalances in the body.

Paracelsus also experimented with treating diseases by curing them with what caused the disease in the first place.

DISEASES: THE INDUSTRIAL DISEASES: THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTIONREVOLUTION

Population increased due to the major decrease in breakouts of disease.

The workhouses often housed many people sick with a fever, and due to the close encounters, it was inevitable to get sick.

Working in the coal mines resulted in deformed bodies, and ruined lungs.

Children were forced to work in contorted positions, which left their bodies severely deformed

Little Ice AgeLittle Ice Age Heavy rains in northern Europe destroyed harvests

◦ Caused: food shortage serious food shortage Historians estimated the famine killed 10% of European

population ◦ First half of 14th century

1288-1340: Broughton England◦ Inhabiters of village migrated to find better economic opportunities in urban

areas 1330: Florentine chronicler estimated the population of his city

was 100,000◦ Predicted 17,000 were paupers

Pauper: an extremely poor person, especially one who lives on charity

◦ Evidence led historians to believe that since there was an increase in population Peasants who owned land in 1300 had to give up land because they could no longer support their family Europe reached the limit of its population growth

The famine caused by the Little Ice Age could have lead to ◦ chronic malnutrition◦ Increased infant mortality◦ Lowered birthrates◦ Higher susceptibility to disease

Malnourished people are less able to resist infection Spielvogel states that this aids the explanation of the high mortality of the Black Death

IRISH POTATO FAMINEIRISH POTATO FAMINE The Great Hunger The potato was the only nutrition that the Irish

consumed that sustained them◦ Grew three times as much food per acre as grain◦ Gave them the nutrition to survive and cultivate◦ 1781-1845: Irish population doubled from 4 million to 8

million Estimated half of Population depended on potatoes for survival

Summer of 1845: Potato crop in Ireland was struck by blight due to a fungus that turned the potatoes black◦ Blight: a plant disease especially one caused by fungus

such as mildews, rusts, and smuts 1845-1851: The Famine decimated Irish population

◦ More than one million died of starvation and disease◦ About two million emigrated to the United States and

Britain◦ Only country to have its population decline in the

nineteenth century

SANITATION IN THE FORM OF SANITATION IN THE FORM OF PROSTITUTIONPROSTITUTION

Post-Black Plague◦ People began living in the moment Joined in sexual orgies

Middle Ages◦ During the Renaissance, courtiers were important in upper-

class society◦ Royal couples lead separate lives

Marriage between royal families were only to secure bloodlines and political alliance

◦ Prostitution was only tolerated to prevent the greater “evils” of: Rape Sodomy Masturbation

High Middle Ages◦ France and Germany set specific streets aside for

prostitutes to stand on This was a form of regulation

◦ Civic Brothels Form of regulation Outside of brothels prostitution was illegal

SANITATION IN THE FORM OF SANITATION IN THE FORM OF PROSTITUTION PART 2PROSTITUTION PART 2

16th-17th Century◦Attitudes hardened against

prostitution◦Naples 1494: an outbreak of syphilis

Later spread throughout Europe Syphilis outbreak in Naples could have

been due to the Columbian Exchange or STDs STDs could have originated from the sixteenth

century could have caused the hate in prostitution

SANITATION IN THE FORM OF SANITATION IN THE FORM OF WASTEWASTE

Industrial Revolution◦Sanitary conditions were appalling

Streets were regularly used as sewers and drains

◦Cities could not deal with human feces ergo cities were very unhealthy and extremely smelled foul

◦Edwin Chadwick’s Report on the Conditions of the Laboring Population of Great Britain 1842 Various epidemics, and other diseases were caused by

the impurities of the cities atmosphere such as: decomposing animals and vegetables, by the damp and filthy feces, and the over crowed dwellings in each city Chadwick wanted sanitary reform that had efficient sewers and a

pipeline water supply

MedicineMedicine

4 humors (Blood= from the heart, phlegm= from the brain, yellow bile= from the liver, black bile= from the spleen Corresponds to the four elements- Earth, air, fire, water

They have to be kept in balance for the body to function properly

Practiced by a hierarchy of practitioners The top level was physicians and the next level was surgeons

MedicineMedicine New methods emphasized more clinical

experience and training Surgeons practiced bleeding patients

out, performing surgery, and setting broken bones (often done crudely with out painkillers)

Apothecaries, midwives, and faith healers served the common people, they prescribed herbs and potions

3 Main Figures in 3 Main Figures in MedicineMedicine

Paracelsus- Traveled widely and many call him the father of medicine

Rejected the works of Aristotle and Galen New methods derived from fresh

observations Diseases treated with chemical remedies Versalius- Understanding human anatomy On the Fabric of the Human Body”- Carefully

examined the organs and the human body

3 Main Figures In Medicine3 Main Figures In Medicine William Harvey- “On the Motion of

the Heart and Blood” The heart, not the liver, is the

beginning point of blood circulation Same blood flows in both veins and

arteries