Le choléra en milieu rural : la pandémie de 1866 dans les provinces de Namur et Luxembourg

Abstract

A major cholera pandemic struck Belgium in 1866, resulting in 43,400 deaths (around 30% of all deaths in 1866) and a drop in life expectancy of more than 5 years. Although cholera is often presented as an urban disease, the Belgian countryside was not spared, and the south of the province of Luxembourg was one of the gateways to the pandemic in 1866. This article answers two questions. Firstly, why were some areas heavily affected by the pandemic while others were spared? Secondly, what were the characteristics of individuals who recovered and those who died, and to what extent did they differ? In Belgium, the 1866 cholera pandemic was the subject of specific data production, giving rise to detailed nominal lists of people affected (cured or deceased) by the disease. This article is based on these individual data for municipalities located in the provinces of Namur and Luxembourg.In Belgium, the pandemic is affecting all the major towns, but cholera mortality rates are highest in certain rural municipalities. In addition, the situation is highly heterogeneous in the provinces of Namur and Luxembourg, with highly variable levels of incidence and mortality. The intensity of the pandemic is mainly determined by proximity to contagion hot spots (e.g. close to the Luxembourg border) and the presence of road, rail or sea links. Local spread depends on local mobility and population density. Concerning the determinants of cholera mortality, the analyses confirm the structuring effect of age, with a high risk of death among the most vulnerable, i.e. the youngest and the oldest. Differences were also observed according to the individuals’ socio-professional background and can be explained essentially by poverty, frequency of interpersonal contacts and proximity linked to working conditions.

Keywords

• mortality
• Belgium
• 19th century
• rural
• spatial diffusion
• pandemic