Plague, Crisis, and Scientific Authority during the London Caterpillar Outbreak of 1782

John Lidwell-Durnin
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引用次数: 1

Abstract

Abstract In the summer of 1780, anti-Catholic riots led by Lord George Gordon in London left hundreds dead and stretches of the city burnt and destroyed. Eighteen months later, during a tense period in the city's history, London was invaded by brown-tail moth caterpillars. The metropolis and surrounding countryside disappeared behind the tents and nests of the insects, prompting widespread fear of famine and plague. With the memory of the riots still fresh, philanthropists such as Jonas Hanway and entomologists like William Curtis sought to assuage the public's fear, insisting that the brown-tail moth outbreak was part of the normal operations of nature, that the infestation bore no danger to the public, and that efforts to alarm the public or describe them as dangerous were contemptuous. At the same time, the conjurer and philosopher Gustavus Katterfelto, performing in the city, sought to profit from the public agitation, developing spectacles and performances that promised the insects would soon deliver famine, plague, and ruin on the city. This article examines the intersection of scientific authority, public fear, and performance, showing that the outbreak placed tremendous stress on the relationship between scientific authority and security in the metropolis.
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1782年伦敦毛虫爆发期间的瘟疫、危机和科学权威
1780年夏天,由乔治·戈登勋爵(Lord George Gordon)领导的伦敦反天主教骚乱导致数百人死亡,城市大片地区被烧毁。18个月后,在伦敦历史上的一段紧张时期,棕尾蛾毛虫入侵了伦敦。大都市和周围的乡村消失在帐篷和昆虫的巢穴后面,引发了人们对饥荒和瘟疫的普遍恐惧。由于暴乱的记忆仍然清晰,乔纳斯·汉威(Jonas Hanway)等慈善家和威廉·柯蒂斯(William Curtis)等昆虫学家试图缓解公众的恐惧,他们坚持认为,棕尾蛾的爆发是大自然正常运作的一部分,这种侵扰对公众没有危险,那些警告公众或将其描述为危险的努力是轻蔑的。与此同时,魔术师兼哲学家古斯塔夫斯·卡特菲尔托(Gustavus Katterfelto)在城市里表演,试图从公众的骚动中获利,他设计了壮观的场面和表演,承诺昆虫很快就会给城市带来饥荒、瘟疫和毁灭。本文考察了科学权威、公众恐惧和表现之间的交集,表明疫情对大都市中科学权威和安全之间的关系造成了巨大的压力。
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0.10
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0.00%
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6
期刊介绍: “Ajalooline Ajakiri. The Estonian Historical Journal” is peer-reviewed academic journal of the Institute of History and Archaeology, University of Tartu. It accepts articles in Estonian, English or German. It is open to submissions from all parts of the world and on all fields of history, but articles, reviews and communications on the history of the Baltic region are preferred.
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