The 1812–1819 Ottoman plague epidemic was one of the last major

epidemic An epidemic (from Greek ἐπί ''epi'' "upon or above" and δῆμος ''demos'' "people") is the rapid spread of disease to a large number of hosts in a given population within a short period of time. For example, in meningococcal infection ...

s of plague in the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

. This particular epidemic would cost the lives of at least 300,000 individuals. Plague epidemics occurred frequently in the Ottoman Empire between the 16th and 19th centuries. __TOC__

History

The disease broke out in the capital

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

in July 1812. It was initially mild, but by late August the situation had become critical. By September, around 2000 people were dying each day. In December the epidemic subsided, but it later reappeared. By the end of the epidemic, the Ottoman government estimated that there were 320,955 deaths, which included 220,000 Turks, 40,800 Armenians, 32,000 Jews, 28,000 Greeks, 50 Aleppines, 80 islanders and 25 Franks. The outbreak spread throughout most of the empire's territory, including

Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

. In 1813, the plague reached the Ottoman vassal state of

Wallachia Wallachia or Walachia (; ; : , : ) is a historical and geographical region of modern-day Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and south of the Southern Carpathians. Wallachia was traditionally divided into two sections, Munteni ...

where it became known as Caragea's plague after the country's ruler at the time. The epidemic killed about 25,000 to 30,000 people in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...

alone. Around the same time, the plague was also present in

Bosnia Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

, reaching

Dalmatia Dalmatia (; ; ) is a historical region located in modern-day Croatia and Montenegro, on the eastern shore of the Adriatic Sea. Through time it formed part of several historical states, most notably the Roman Empire, the Kingdom of Croatia (925 ...

in 1815. In 1814–15 it reappeared in Egypt, Bosnia and

Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...

. The plague also spread beyond the borders of the empire. In May 1812 there was an outbreak in Poti, Georgia; in September the

Crimea Crimea ( ) is a peninsula in Eastern Europe, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, almost entirely surrounded by the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov. The Isthmus of Perekop connects the peninsula to Kherson Oblast in mainland Ukrain ...

was hit. It had reached

Odessa ODESSA is an American codename (from the German language, German: ''Organisation der ehemaligen SS-Angehörigen'', meaning: Organization of Former SS Members) coined in 1946 to cover Ratlines (World War II aftermath), Nazi underground escape-pl ...

in August, where churches, the theatre and the exchange were closed. The duke of Richelieu played an important role. On November 22, 1812, all 32,000 residents of Odessa were forcibly imprisoned in their homes. On 7 January 1813 no more cases were reported from Odessa and the town was reopened after 66 days, but no one was allowed to leave the city.Travels in Russia, and a residence at St. Petersburg and Odessa, by Edward Morton, p. 322-326
/ref> The epidemic killed 2656 people in 1812; 24 people died in 1813. In March 1813, it was introduced to the British-held island of Malta, causing an epidemic which lasted until January 1814 and which killed around 4500 people. The epidemic spread from Malta to the nearby island of

Gozo Gozo ( ), known in classical antiquity, antiquity as Gaulos, is an island in the Malta#The Maltese archipelago, Maltese archipelago in the Mediterranean Sea. The island is part of the Republic of Malta. After the Malta Island, island of Malta ...

, where the outbreak killed around 100 people between March and September 1814. The epidemic also broke out on the island of

Corfu Corfu ( , ) or Kerkyra (, ) is a Greece, Greek island in the Ionian Sea, of the Ionian Islands; including its Greek islands, small satellite islands, it forms the margin of Greece's northwestern frontier. The island is part of the Corfu (regio ...

in 1815. A small plague outbreak which occurred in Noja, Italy in 1815 might have also originated from the epidemic in Dalmatia, but its exact source is not known and it is possible that the outbreak was endemic. The next major plague epidemic in the Ottoman Empire occurred between 1835 and 1838.

References

History

See also

References