Defoe - A Journal of the Plague Year

Public Health has been a paramount issue for societies ever since the birth of civilization. With the mass conjugation of people and their close proximity, outbreaks of disease are not only possible but almost inevitable. The London Plague of 1665 where eighty thousand Londoners perished is an example of how public health was implemented at the time. In Daniel Defoe’s A Journal of the Plague Year, the author depicts the structural organization of authority, protocols for the ill, and the public restrictions and rules in response to the 1665 London Plague.

To begin, Defoe depicts the structural organization of authority divided into jurisdiction based on churches (Parish) with three main plague response positions (Examiners, Searches, Chirurgeons). One or two Examiners were appointed to Parish and would oversee the occurs of the plague in their church district. The Searches where preferred to be women and their duty was to find where deaths of the plague occurred and to their best knowledge report wither it was from the Plague or another infection. Also, The Chirurgeons (Surgeons) where physicians who were directed by the Examiner to visit parties involved with the plague or have the patients come to the Chirurgeons for evaluation and application of remedies.

Secondly, Defoe talks about how the sick or dead where handled. When an individual was discovered with the Plague they were isolated in their house and the house was closed after their death for one month in a process called “sequestration of the sick” (Defoe 157). The doors of the Houses of the sick were painted with a red cross and imprint of “Loud have Mercy upon us” (Defoe 157). The dead where to be buried at least 6 feet deep and either before sun rise or right after sun set so that as little exposure could be experienced by the people. Also neighbors and friends could not accompany the body on its way to the church nor could the body be left at the church during times of common prayer or large gatherings.

Lastly, Defoe writes about a set of restriction imparted on the public. The masters of the house had the responsibility of reporting a sickness to the Examiner within 2 hours of signs of the Plague (Defoe 156). Also the bedding, cloths, or other garments from an infected house could not be sold or hanged on windows or stalls that faced any streets or lanes otherwise the perpetrators would be imprisoned for such violations. In addition, Coaches that carried the individuals with the Plague had to be taken out of common use and aired out for five to six days before being brought back into service. All plays, games, and other mass conjugations of people were prohibited and violations would be severely punished. Furthermore, rotting food items such as meats and fruits could not be sold in the city nor were Dogs, Hogs, or Cats allowed to be in the city. Hogs would be impounded and the owner would be punished for the violation and all dogs would be killed. Lastly, any beggars found in the streets of the city were sentenced to execution.

In reflection, Defoe’s depiction of the 1665 Plague of London shows how public health policy and organization were implemented in the 15^th century in response to the epidemic. Although there may definitely be flaws in the methodology implemented by today’s standards, it does however show that Public Health isn’t a modern concept and was used in the past by necessity.