Cholera morbus in 1856 and 1910

The horrific calamity that ravaged this archipelago from July to October 1856, taking the lives of some ten thousand of its inhabitants, is still remembered by many and remains vivid in local tradition.

Cholera was raging in Lisbon, and in the district of Belém the epidemic had broken out with extraordinary virulence. The 1st Infantry Regiment (regimento de infantaria n.º 1) was quartered in that district, and the central government, with criminal lack of foresight, had sent it to Madeira. It arrived on the afternoon of 28 June, disembarked at once and occupied the former Convent of São Francisco (St Francis of Assisi). On 2 July the regiment moved its quarters to the College of São João Evangelista (St John the Evangelist) (Colégio de São João Evangelista), where the bales and baggage were opened; it was then that the first cases of cholera appeared among some of the regiment’s other ranks. The first Madeiran to fall ill was a seaman named Manuel Rodrigues, who lived near the Convent of São Francisco and had been in contact with some soldiers of the 1st Infantry.

The epidemic began to spread with great intensity, above all in the district of Santa Maria, then extended to the whole city and rapidly reached the suburban and rural parishes (freguesias). It was by now a fire burning everywhere. It reached the height of its violence on 31 July, when within the city alone it took the lives of 162 of our fellow countrymen in the space of 24 hours.

Outside Funchal, the epidemic first appeared in the parish of Ponta do Pargo (‘sea bream point’) on 11 July and in Machico on the 14th, and then successively in the remaining parishes, in some of which the mortality rate was very low. The heaviest influx of patients was at the Misericórdia hospital, where on some days it was impossible to admit cholera patients, so great was the number of sufferers filling the wards and every room with space to lay a straw mattress. The military hospital and the building of the Poorhouse (Asilo de Mendicidade) were adapted to take cholera patients, and makeshift hospitals were set up in the parishes of Santo António, Ribeira Brava, Machico, Ponta do Sol and others.

‘If the epidemic’, says an official report, ‘had proved terrifying in the municipality (concelho) of Funchal through the havoc it wrought, in the rural municipalities its horrors were redoubled, for besides the large number of victims, the population was also struggling with hunger and had neither physicians nor medicines to help the sick. The state of despondency, distress and misery these municipalities reached was truly indescribable. Many patients died for complete want of medical aid; others perished from lack of food. Most of the makeshift hospitals were in dreadful condition, and all lacked the most basic supplies. The sick lay on the floor on wretched straw mattresses, and men and women, and the living and the dead, were often found there together.’ In view of this, the authorities decided that the medical sub-delegates Branco (‘white’) and Brand should travel round the island, taking medicines and other aid to the cholera sufferers. No more could have been done than was done. According to the official figures, cholera killed 7,041 people, but it has always been claimed that the number who succumbed to the epidemic was about ten thousand. In the municipality of Funchal 2,014 people died: 311 in the parish of the Sé (Funchal Cathedral (Sé)), 519 in São Pedro, 376 in Santa Maria Maior, 69 in São Roque, 129 in São Martinho, 315 in Santa Luzia, 214 in Santo António, 83 in Monte and 88 in São Gonçalo.

The rural parishes with the highest mortality were Ponta do Pargo with 328 deaths, Machico 319, Câmara de Lobos 393, Campanário 206, Ponta do Sol 281, Tabua 161, Serra de Água 143, Ponta Delgada 409, São Vicente 307, Estreito de Câmara de Lobos 139, etc. In the Misericórdia hospital 619 people died, in that of Santo António 119 and in that of the Poorhouse 63.

In the article devoted to the civil governor António Rogério Gromicho Couceiro we shall highlight the truly providential work that this official carried out here, and the great gratitude Madeira owes him for the outstanding services he rendered to the whole archipelago. We also wish to mention here Dr António da Luz Pita, the delegate of the Health Council of the Kingdom (reino, i.e. mainland Portugal). He was in Lisbon at the time as deputy for this island, and at once left for Funchal on the warship Mindelo, bringing the relief that the central government had sent without delay and accompanying several doctors who came from the mainland to provide medical services on the island. This first relief consisted of a large quantity of medicines, a great deal of clothing, beds, straw mattresses, etc., and a credit of six contos de réis (conto: one million réis), and fresh and abundant consignments of relief were later sent. The medical profession distinguished itself by its extraordinary devotion: three Madeiran doctors and one Englishman, Dr Ross, fell victim to the disease.

We should go too far if we wished to enter into further details and more particular notes on the terrible epidemic that ravaged this archipelago in 1856.

Anyone wishing for a fuller account of the subject may consult the second part of the official report published in 1866 and the articles printed in the Heraldo da Madeira (‘Madeira Herald’) in October 1908.

Cholera in 1910. The cholera epidemic that broke out in Funchal in October 1910 did not even remotely reach the proportions of the cholera morbus of 1856. Although the two lasted roughly the same length of time, the number of people who fell ill and of those who died was very different. According to official figures, the 1856 epidemic claimed 7,041 victims, and that of 1910 to 1911 only 556. The disease may perhaps have been less virulent, but the difference in mortality must be attributed chiefly to the means used to overcome the epidemic. Times have changed greatly, and the resources available to science in the two periods are entirely different, admitting not the slightest comparison. Today both officials and rural populations have a more exact understanding of their duties; hygiene is no longer an empty word, above all in the larger towns, and it is observed with some rigour, especially during epidemics. All this contributed powerfully to making the cholera of 1856, still remembered with such horror, and that of 1910 so unequal in their contagion, their spread and the havoc they caused. We also had the good fortune to have at the head of the various services fighting the epidemic a most remarkable physician. A man of science and a very distinguished bacteriologist, he had an essentially organising mind, a rare and prudent energy, boundless self-sacrifice and zeal, and the most proven strength of character. In so calamitous a time and in such difficult and distressing circumstances, he rendered this land services that can never be forgotten, and his distinguished name is indissolubly linked to the history of our archipelago, placed alongside those who have most deserved the recognition and gratitude of its inhabitants.

The first cases to attract the attention of doctors were those of two sisters who lived near the Paiol (‘powder magazine’). One fell ill on 20 October 1910 and the other on the 23rd of the same month, and the latter died on 4 November following. The proper precautions were taken at once: the house was isolated, disinfection was carried out, contacts were medically examined, etc. Two more cases then appeared in the Rua da Imperatriz Dona Amélia, and others were soon recorded in various parts of the city. Before long the disease appeared in Câmara de Lobos, Machico and other places. The population began to grow alarmed. The chief authority of the district, deeply concerned at the spread of the disease, convened the Consultative Board of Hygiene (Junta Consultiva de Higiene) on 17 November, and more vigorous and effective measures were then taken. At the same time he pressed the central government to adopt extraordinary measures and to send indispensable resources that could not be found in Madeira.

The central government sent to Madeira, with extraordinary powers, Dr José Alfredo Mendes de Magalhãis as High Commissioner of the Republic. He rendered excellent services and, throughout his stay among us, always showed the greatest willingness to cooperate effectively in stamping out the epidemic. As a well-deserved tribute to these services, a formal session was held in his honour at the Municipal Council of this municipality (concelho). On that occasion he was made an honorary burgess and citizen of Funchal, and his portrait was unveiled in the state room of the town hall. Besides extraordinary credits to meet the heavy costs of fighting the epidemic, the government also sent a contingent of troops, owing to well-founded fears of public disorder.

The wisest measure taken by the government in Lisbon, however, was to send Dr Carlos França. He arrived in Funchal on 22 November and, after some days of laboratory work and other essential studies, took over the entire direction of the sanitary services and of the fight against the scourge that threatened to ravage the whole island. From the outset he showed not only the surest judgement and the most proven competence, but also ardent zeal and the most fervent dedication in carrying out the many functions he had to perform in so laborious and hazardous a mission. Seven doctors, several nurses and an analyst from the Câmara Pestana Bacteriological Institute came from the mainland. Together with the doctors of Madeira, they rendered good service and showed true self-sacrifice in the duties assigned to them.

Cholera hospitals operated in the Lazareto de Gonçalo Aires (‘Gonçalo Aires quarantine hospital’) and in the parishes of Santo António, Câmara de Lobos, Ribeira Brava, Santa Cruz and Machico.

The epidemic raged in the municipalities of Funchal, Santa Cruz, Machico, Câmara de Lobos, Ponta do Sol and Porto Santo. It did not affect the parishes of Madalena, Serra de Água, Curral das Freiras and Santo da Serra, nor the whole municipality of Calheta (‘small cove’), with the exception of Fajã da Ovelha (‘the ewe’s flat’), where there were only two cases. The thirteen parishes of the whole north coast of Madeira were also spared. Deaths by municipality numbered 210 in Funchal, 161 in Câmara de Lobos, 71 in Ponta do Sol, 75 in Machico, 26 in Santa Cruz, and Porto Santo, making a total of 556.

We would go too far if we attempted to give details of how the various sanitary services were organised and run, and further still if we wished to describe the many episodes and circumstances worthy of special record that do not fit within the limits of this article. Anyone wishing to do so need only consult the brilliant and detailed work written by Dr Carlos França, entitled A Epidemia Cholerica da Madeira 1910-1911. Relatorio apresentado ao ministro do interior, where they will find everything of interest concerning this calamitous period in Madeiran history.