The epidemic that killed half a city
Marseilles is the oldest city in France. It was founded by the ancient Greeks from Phocaea, around 600 before Christ.
Since then it has been one of the most important ports in Europe. Thousands of ships circulate through its waters year after year, carrying goods from the four cardinal points.
For this reason, the city has been the victim and witness of various epidemics and diseases throughout history.
In 1347 it was struck, like all the great cities of the time, by the terrible black plague, brought from China by Genghis Khan’s Mongols. Then the epidemics of 1649 and 1650 came, claiming thousands of victims.
Currently, the third wave of Covid-19 hits harder than the previous ones, not only in this city, but on the entire world.
However, non of these pandemics was as deadly as The Great Plague of Marseilles in 1720, which just marked 300 years.
At the beginning of the 18th century, Marseilles was a thriving city that boasted the most important commercial port in Europe. Dozens of ships arrived every week loaded with products from Africa, Asia Minor and Levant.
Thousands of people worked on the port: rowers, sailors, haulers, fishermen, tugs, moorings, stevedores and many others who made their living by the sea, while powerful merchants amassed fortunes thanks to the trade with the East.
On may 25, 1720, the Grand Saint-Antoine, a merchant ship with the capacity to transport 266 tons, arrived at the port of Marseilles. It belonged to a French businessman named Jean Chaud and was commanded by his brother-in-law Jean Baptiste Chataud, an experienced 38-year-old captain.
The vessel came from a journey of almost a year along the coasts of Anatolia, Cyprus and Syria. It had collected tapestries and tobacco in Smyrna, wood in Larnaca and fine silk in Sidon. It also brought cotton, wool and other fabrics from Damascus, in addition to abundant ash, necessary for the manufacture of soap.
At the same time, an epidemic of bubonic plague was circulating through Syria and Palestine, wreaking havoc on the population.
The plague is an infection caused by a bacteria transmitted by the rat fleas. Infected people develop swellings in the neck, armpits and groin called buboes, hence the name of bubonic plague.
On their way back to Marseilles, 5 crewed members died on board and were thrown into the sea. There began the suspicions that the plague could be on the ship.
According to the regulations, all the ships that suffered deaths during the journey had to quarantine on Jarre Island, located 15 km from the city. Captain Chataud claimed that the deaths were due to poor diet and thus avoided isolation.
The reason was simple: if it were discovered that the ship was carrying the plague, it would lose all merchandise it was bringing.
The merchandise of the Grand Saint-Antoine was valued at 300,000 pounds, about 2.5 million euro today. An important part belonged to a powerful shipping man named Antoine Bourguet and to Jean-Baptiste Estelle, mayor of the city.
These merchants were eager to sell their wares at the Beaucaire fair, a large market held in July a few kilometers from the city.
Despite strong suspicions of plague, Estelle used his influence so that the health mayors authorized the landing of the merchandise, which was deposited in the Arenc lazaretto, an establishment destined to store products that could be contaminated.
Some fabrics and tapestries, clogged with fleas carrying the plague bacteria, were taken out and sold to some impatient customers. Jean-Baptiste Estelle and his associates encouraged and abetted these infractions.
The first deaths of a mysterious fever were recorded in June, but health officials concluded that they had nothing to do with the plague. However, within a few weeks the deaths began to multiply in a worrying way.
In July two doctors named Peyssonnel, father and son, went to Jean-Galant Street to study the death of a 13-year-old boy. They immediatly understood that it was the plague and warned the municipal authorities, who removed the warnings and decided to hide the existence of the disease.
At the beginning of August 50 people died daily from the contagion. At the end of the month, it was 1000 per day. The corpses accumulated in the streets, in the squares and on the seashore. The authorities could no longer hide the sad reality: the epidemic had taken hold of the city.
The richest citizens, who owned another residence, fled outside the city. All domestic animals, dogs and cats, were sacrified for fear of transmitting the disease. By the end of the summer of 1720, life in the port had almost disappeared.
Some authorities remained in the village to deal with the epidemic, among them Jean-Baptiste Estelle, evidently motivated by his own fault. Food distribution mechanisms were established to feed the poor and help the sick.
The convicts were ordered to clean the streets and transfer the bodies in exchange for their freedom. Most of them died from the epidemic.
Traditional burials were suspended because there were too many corpses. In addition, the churches were closed, since there were no priests left. Those who had not died had fled out of the city. The bodies were deposited in mass graves pulverized with quicklime.
In September the Grand Saint-Antoine was sent to the northern inlet of the Islet of Jarrom, where it was burned and sunk with it goods. Unfortunately, it was too late.
To fight the plague, a cordon of 60 guard posts that divided the city from the rest of the region was established. In addition, The Wall of the Plague was built, a stone wall raised in the Vaucluse mountains to isolate the territories of the Pope in the south of France.
In autumn, with the end of the heats, mortality dropped and the population thought that their torment was over. But the plague returned successively during the years 1721 and 1722, finally disappearing around January 1723.
In total, the Great Plague of Marseilles killed more than 40,000 people, half of the total population of the city. Citizens had to endure 27 months of confinement and had to wait 4 years to fully reopen their borders.
In 1978, the remains of the Grand Saint-Antoine were found north of Jarre Island, sunk 18 meters deep. Still today, some charred remains of the old ship that brought the plague to the citée phocéenne can be found, submerged under water.
