[Sanitary risks related to importation of workers to Reunion Island during the XIXth century].

The XIXth century is the period of the sugar industrialization in Réunion. In spite of the abolition of the slaves trade in 1817 and the English abolition of the slavery of 1833, the sugar industry imported large numbers of African and Asian workers which exceeded in number the white population and that of the slaves. As the public health and the health controls came under the governor, the prevention was insufficient in the XIXth century. There were several establishments of "decontamination", sanitary observation in Saint-Denis under the authority of the colonial doctor. However, in the absence of a lazaret, the ship which transported imported workers had to be suspected to be contaminated not to be granted access. The lazaret of La grande chaloupe opened lately around 1850. Under the pressure of the industry, traders and captains, not all immigrants passed by the lazaret before entering the island. Therefore, the public health relative to the massive immigration in Réunion depended more on the private domain than on the public domain because the immigration was linked with major economic interests.