Smallpox & Montreal

Matt and Phil start talking about Cal Ripken Jr. Matt finally looked after his cousin’s kid and it went well after a short time of scream-crying. We then start talking about the flooding our region (and country) has experienced this past couple weeks, it was an unanticipated conversation, however, it was probably the most important intro that we have recorded. We talked about ways people can help out and the challenges facing people when they return. On that bright note, onto an episode about smallpox!

Smallpox & Montreal (18:20)

Matt digs into his archaeological sub-stratums on this episode and got bogged down in pre-modern history. Smallpox can be traced back to 10,000 BP when humans started farming and domesticating animals. Written descriptions of its treatment (inoculation) existed in India and China in the 11thC. CE, but it took 7 more centuries for the Europeans and Americans to ‘discover it’ (which also includes 4 centuries of introducing it in the ‘new world’). Peasants in Europe and people from the ‘Far East’ knew what to do.

Matt reads descriptions of smallpox and cholera and gives us some stats. Despite improvements in sanitation (cholera) and public health (smallpox), outbreaks of both diseases continued to happen in India until the 1930’s, whereas Canada and other wealthy nations all but eradicated it by the late 1800’s.

Matt gives a much briefer background on Montreal, its epidemic history and its sanitary conditions, all of which comes from “Plague: A Story of Smallpox in Montreal” by Michael Bliss (Harper Collins, 1991). Montreal had a smallpox epidemic from 1872-80 and by 1881-85 there were no outbreaks, which lead to a false sense of security among the population which was localized into specific neighborhoods divided along linguistic and religious lines.

We go over some of the key actors of this story, focusing on R.M. Ross who was the main anti-vaccinationist that drummed up fervor among the less-inoculated French speaking populations in Montreal. The campaign started as an opposition to the idea of inoculation - ingesting ‘disease’ to avoid disease is actually maybe a logical fallacy (see our next episode!) – and morphed into an opposition to English Protestant power centered in city hall. As 1885 dragged on, techniques were developed ad-hoc by the municipality, they started ‘enforcing’ inoculation laws through placarding, detainment and forced inoculation. Matt picked this topic because he knew that Phil was going to glom onto the state formation dynamic at work. We talk about the on-the-fly approach in Montreal, but we also do note that everyone was trying their best despite the challenges they faced (seems to be a common theme for us).

We also talk about French-English relations, including spatial and religious divides, which was the reality despite the image that the tourism department was putting forward of Montreal as a cosmopolitan and progressive city (economically). Micheal Bliss also uses the rebellion, trial and execution of the Metis leader Louis Riel (1885) as a parallel narrative that mirrors the divides and questions about Canadian nationhood (racially, ethnically and linguistically). We finish up by talking about public gatherings and the emotions of epidemics.

Recommendations (1:12:12)

Matt recommended a hemp-based beer called Buzz, by Cool Brewery. We know, it’s an odd name, but tasty nonetheless. The beer is amber but it is crisp and dry, making it a good all weather/multi-sport viewing brewski. Phil recommends “The Sociologist & the Historian” by Pierre Bourdieu and Roger Chartier (Polity, 2015), which is a good primer and chalk-full of stuff Bourdieusians will like. While reading lately, Phil likes to sip on the latest batch of Glenlivet 12 year single malt scotch. Matt takes his whiskey (or whisky) with a single ice cube, ideally made from distilled spring water! (or the tears of a thousand unicorns will do just as well for him!)

Red Cross Quebec spring flood appeal information can be found here : https://goo.gl/b4vv4x

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Music: Song "Soul Challenger" appearing on "Cullahnary School" by Cullah

Available at: http://www.cullah.com

Under CC BY SA license http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/