A vibrant city-state on the Adriatic sea, Dubrovnik, also known as
Ragusa, was a hub for the international trade between Europe and the
Ottoman Empire. As a result, the city suffered frequent outbreaks of
plague. Through a comprehensive analysis of these epidemics in
Dubrovnik, Expelling the Plague explores the increasingly sophisticated
plague control regulations that were adopted by the city and implemented
by its health officials. In 1377, Dubrovnik became the first city in the
world to develop and implement quarantine legislation, and in 1390 it
established the earliest recorded permanent Health Office. The city's
preoccupation with plague control and the powers granted to its Health
Office led to a rich archival record chronicling the city's experience
of plague, its attempts to safeguard public health, and the social
effects of its practices of quarantine, prosecution, and punishment.
These sources form the foundation of the authors' analysis, in
particular the manuscript Libro deli Signori Chazamorbi, 1500-30, a rare
health record of the 1526-27 calamitous plague epidemic. Teeming with
real people across the spectrum, including gravediggers, laundresses,
and plague survivors, it contains the testimonies collected during trial
proceedings conducted by health officials against violators of public
health regulations. Outlining the contributions of Dubrovnik in
conceiving and establishing early public health measures in Europe,
Expelling the Plague reveals how health concerns of the past greatly
resemble contemporary anxieties about battling epidemics such as SARS,
avian flu, and the Ebola virus.