Managing the Epidemics in 19th Century Dalmatia: From Fatherly Monarch to Scientific Grounds

Abstract

The provincial government in Zadar managed public health in Dalmatia until the 1860s under the strict control of the central government in Vienna. In the period from 1814 to 1918, the Dalmatian Government enacted a series of regulations and guidelines for governance during various epidemics. These were publicly proclaimed announcements, instructions, and recommendations, some of which were mandatory, and some were in the form of a recommendation. As Dalmatian healthcare was influenced by the concept of medical police, a wide network of public officials was established to monitor the outbreak and course of epidemics, and government announcements were targeted at various social and professional groups, such as the population, clergy, local government, doctors, and sanitary officers. With social and political changes, i.e., the end of absolutism in the Monarchy and the secularization of society, the government’s discourse on epidemics changed, but the obligation to adhere to anti-epidemic measures remained in force. Furthermore, anti-epidemic measures corresponded to the dominant etiological theories and medical knowledge.