Plague, politics and municipal relations in sixteenth-century Seville (Spain)

Bubonic plague first struck Europe in 1348 in a sweeping epidemic that took an enormous toll in lives. In subsequent centuries, plague remained a feared disease that erupted periodically in regional epidemics. Based on experience and observation, officials gradually came to believe that plague was contagious. Therefore, municipal officials, first in Italy and later in the rest of Europe, sought to establish control over these epidemics through a series of regulations aimed at limiting contact between sick and healthy. Beginning in the fifteenth-century, Italian rulers imposed restrictions on travel and the movement of goods, which often had harsh economic and social repercussions, as trade was brought to a stop and families were separated by officials intent on isolating the sick. Such restrictions were later copied in other European countries as the best means available to help limit the spread of plague.; This dissertation examines the use and impact of plague regulations in sixteenth-century Seville, arguing that while municipal officials there continued to enact legislation based on the Italian model, their use and enforcement of those regulations resulted in much more flexible system of plague control with fewer severe consequences. Rather than create official municipal positions to monitor and ensure public health, Seville's city councilmen took on the task of dealing with epidemics themselves. Because residents of Seville and the surrounding towns retained their traditional access to the city government, they were able to seek relief from the economic and social breakdown plague restrictions could pose. In turn, the city council devoted a great deal of time and energy listening to and investigating concerns about the adverse effects of restrictions. They often granted exceptions to or removed such restrictions altogether, when they were persuaded that doing so would result in greater good than harm. This flexibility in enforcing plague restrictions reflects the concern of city councilmen to balance the needs of public health against other social and economic needs of residents and enabled the city to flourish despite the constant threat of plague.