Cholera in the Mediterranean Sea in the XIXth Century

Sofiane Bouhdiba, University of Tunis

During the XIXth century, many epidemics threatened the Mediterranean basin. Cholera, in particular, focused the international attention, as the rapid steam boats made it possible to transport the disease from its endemic homeland in India to Europe in a few weeks. The research is organized into three sections. The first one describes the demographic crisis caused by cholera epidemic in the Mediterranean in the XIXth century. The second part discusses the restrictive hygienist measures that were taken by Europe at that time. This part will focus on the different thoughts between the various European nations, explaining why Britain adopted such a specific policy and entered into conflict with France, Italy and Germany. The last part of the paper deals with the reactions of the colonized governments, but also by the local populations. The issue of the restrictions to the Mediterranean routes to Mecca will also be examined in this part.