Cholera in Nineteenth Century England: A Social Evolution
I. Introduction When asked about Victorian London in 1899, the Chinese ambassador accurately said ‘too dirty.’ London was incredibly dirty, as evidenced by its smell. Foul streets, dirty homes, and disgusting river water plagued all of 19th century England, not only creating an unpleasant environment, but also promoting the spread of disease. Between a lack of knowledge regarding cholera, corrupt water companies, and a sewage infested river, it is no wonder that cholera spread easily throughout England’s population, particularly when it first arrived in 1831. In England, conditions before and during the arrival of cholera in 1831, such as foul drinking water, roads, and homes, allowed for cholera to spread. Although poor sanitary conditions initially allowed for cholera to spread, as the nineteenth century progressed and knowledge increased, reactions to cholera dramatically changed, bringing increased vigilance and new perspective. …show more content…
In order to carefully examine sanitation conditions and their effects on the spread of cholera, one must first understand the nature of cholera, including its symptoms, spread, and the feelings it inspired.
The gruesome symptoms of cholera made a very unpleasant disease to have.
Symptoms include vomiting, diarrhea, chills, trembling, dehydration, and a blue-colored face.
If infected, a victim could last hours or past two days.
Victims were subject to “spasms and cramps, producing insatiable thirst but taking away voice.” “It liquified the body as fluids streamed uncontrollably and insensibly from both ends. It quickly wrung the water from the body, leaving a shriveled form and thickened blood.”
This torture is exhibited in the picture “A dead victim of cholera at Sunderland in 1832.”
The picture depicts a woman, clearly dead, lying on a mattress.
Her toes are curled, as if gripped by agony in the moments before her death.
She is blue, a tell-tale sign of