Epidemics and (il)licit trade in Southern Europe: Mallorca, nineteenth century

Authors

  • Pere Salas-Vives Universidad de las Islas Baleares
  • Joana Maria Pujadas-Mora Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, Centro de Estudios Demográficos (Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona), Universidad de Barcelona

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.33231/j.ihe.2020.10.002

Keywords:

Epidemics, Cordons sanitaires, Trade and contraband

Abstract

The measures of sanitary watch, and especially the more radical ones such as cordons sanitairies, have usually been considered to be contrary to commercial interests and therefore negative for the economy in general. However, the countries of southern Europe, due to historical tradition, geography and even budget availability,
had no other option than to adopt quarantine measures, following the criteria agreed at the International Health Conferences, if they wanted to continue participating in the international trade system. In fact, these restrictive measures did not stop the growth of trade, as the case of Mallorca shows along the 19th century. They were a formidable tool of the new liberal authorities to discipline the population and attack contraband, which, in addition to being a threat to health, contravened the bourgeois social order, the nation state and even certain aspects of capitalism.

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Published

2020-11-16

How to Cite

Salas-Vives, P., & Pujadas-Mora, J. M. (2020). Epidemics and (il)licit trade in Southern Europe: Mallorca, nineteenth century. Investigaciones De Historia Económica, 16(4), 68–77. https://doi.org/10.33231/j.ihe.2020.10.002