Black October : the impact of the Spanish influenza epidemic of 1918 on South Africa

dc.contributor.advisorLe Cordeur, B Aen_ZA
dc.contributor.authorPhillips, Howard, 1949-en_ZA
dc.date.accessioned2014-10-01T08:06:20Z
dc.date.available2014-10-01T08:06:20Z
dc.date.issued1984en_ZA
dc.descriptionBibliography: leaves 439-535.en_ZA
dc.description.abstractThis is the first serious study of the worst natural disaster in South African' history and of the impact of this disaster on the country and its people. utilising both published and unpublished official and unofficial sources, newspapers, periodicals and the recollections of over 200 'flu survivors, it traces the course of the epidemic in five main areas where its severity paralysed everyday life, viz. the Witwatersrand gold mines, Cape Town, Kimberley, Bloemfontein and the Transkei. Each of these five chapters concludes with an examination of the results which the epidemic produced locally, in spheres such as housing, sanitation, welfare schemes, the provision of medical facilities and racial segregation. Part 2 of the study surveys the makeshift efforts of the small sub-department of Public Health to combat the epidemic and makes clear how its inadequate performance brought about wide-scale agreement as to the urgent need for the creation of a fully-fledged Ministry of Public Health. Part 3 focusses on fundamental medical and aetiological issues which the epidemic raised and discusses the range of answers offered by contemporaries to questions relating to the identity, treatment and cause of the Spanish 'flu. Both medical and lay opinion on these matters are investigated and it is suggested that in 1918 most South Africans found 'scientific' answers to these questions foreign to their thinking. The attempts of the lay public to explain why the disaster occurred provide sharp insights into the prevailing world-view of much of the population. Part 4 concentrates on the results of the epidemic at a national level, both in the short and in the long term. Chapter 9 deals with its demographic impact and concludes that the Spanish 'flu epidemic was the single most important episode in South Africa's demographic history. Chapters 10 and 11 examine its more creative results - from the provision of facilities for the thousands of 'flu orphans and the rush for life insurance to the passing of the Public Health Act of 1919 and the establishment of an autonomous Ministry of Public Health. Less obvious consequences are noted too: Central Government recognition of the importance of the social welfare of (White) citizens and an enhanced anxiety about the dangers of infection across racial and class barriers and the measures taken to reduce this threat. The Conclusion argues that the Spanish 'flu epidemic was a landmark in South African social, medical and administrative history. Coming at a time when features of the new state were still being moulded, the epidemic impressed its mark on, the country in a number of fundamental ways. In addition, a study of the episode highlights aspects of contemporary South African life and thought usually hidden from the historian. The glimpses which it affords of prevailing attitudes, anxieties and assumptions at a popular level in 1918 are invaluable. Finally, the Conclusion considers why the devastating 'flu epidemic has been ignored by historians and forgotten by the majority of the people of South Africa.en_ZA
dc.identifier.apacitationPhillips, H. (1984). <i>Black October : the impact of the Spanish influenza epidemic of 1918 on South Africa</i>. (Thesis). University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Humanities ,Department of Historical Studies. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/11427/7852en_ZA
dc.identifier.chicagocitationPhillips, Howard. <i>"Black October : the impact of the Spanish influenza epidemic of 1918 on South Africa."</i> Thesis., University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Humanities ,Department of Historical Studies, 1984. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/7852en_ZA
dc.identifier.citationPhillips, H. 1984. Black October : the impact of the Spanish influenza epidemic of 1918 on South Africa. Thesis. University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Humanities ,Department of Historical Studies. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/7852en_ZA
dc.identifier.ris TY - Thesis / Dissertation AU - Phillips, Howard, 1949- AB - This is the first serious study of the worst natural disaster in South African' history and of the impact of this disaster on the country and its people. utilising both published and unpublished official and unofficial sources, newspapers, periodicals and the recollections of over 200 'flu survivors, it traces the course of the epidemic in five main areas where its severity paralysed everyday life, viz. the Witwatersrand gold mines, Cape Town, Kimberley, Bloemfontein and the Transkei. Each of these five chapters concludes with an examination of the results which the epidemic produced locally, in spheres such as housing, sanitation, welfare schemes, the provision of medical facilities and racial segregation. Part 2 of the study surveys the makeshift efforts of the small sub-department of Public Health to combat the epidemic and makes clear how its inadequate performance brought about wide-scale agreement as to the urgent need for the creation of a fully-fledged Ministry of Public Health. Part 3 focusses on fundamental medical and aetiological issues which the epidemic raised and discusses the range of answers offered by contemporaries to questions relating to the identity, treatment and cause of the Spanish 'flu. Both medical and lay opinion on these matters are investigated and it is suggested that in 1918 most South Africans found 'scientific' answers to these questions foreign to their thinking. The attempts of the lay public to explain why the disaster occurred provide sharp insights into the prevailing world-view of much of the population. Part 4 concentrates on the results of the epidemic at a national level, both in the short and in the long term. Chapter 9 deals with its demographic impact and concludes that the Spanish 'flu epidemic was the single most important episode in South Africa's demographic history. Chapters 10 and 11 examine its more creative results - from the provision of facilities for the thousands of 'flu orphans and the rush for life insurance to the passing of the Public Health Act of 1919 and the establishment of an autonomous Ministry of Public Health. Less obvious consequences are noted too: Central Government recognition of the importance of the social welfare of (White) citizens and an enhanced anxiety about the dangers of infection across racial and class barriers and the measures taken to reduce this threat. The Conclusion argues that the Spanish 'flu epidemic was a landmark in South African social, medical and administrative history. Coming at a time when features of the new state were still being moulded, the epidemic impressed its mark on, the country in a number of fundamental ways. In addition, a study of the episode highlights aspects of contemporary South African life and thought usually hidden from the historian. The glimpses which it affords of prevailing attitudes, anxieties and assumptions at a popular level in 1918 are invaluable. Finally, the Conclusion considers why the devastating 'flu epidemic has been ignored by historians and forgotten by the majority of the people of South Africa. DA - 1984 DB - OpenUCT DP - University of Cape Town LK - https://open.uct.ac.za PB - University of Cape Town PY - 1984 T1 - Black October : the impact of the Spanish influenza epidemic of 1918 on South Africa TI - Black October : the impact of the Spanish influenza epidemic of 1918 on South Africa UR - http://hdl.handle.net/11427/7852 ER - en_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11427/7852
dc.identifier.vancouvercitationPhillips H. Black October : the impact of the Spanish influenza epidemic of 1918 on South Africa. [Thesis]. University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Humanities ,Department of Historical Studies, 1984 [cited yyyy month dd]. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/11427/7852en_ZA
dc.language.isoengen_ZA
dc.publisher.departmentDepartment of Historical Studiesen_ZA
dc.publisher.facultyFaculty of Humanitiesen_ZA
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Cape Town
dc.subject.otherInfluenzaen_ZA
dc.titleBlack October : the impact of the Spanish influenza epidemic of 1918 on South Africaen_ZA
dc.typeDoctoral Thesis
dc.type.qualificationlevelDoctoral
dc.type.qualificationnamePhDen_ZA
uct.type.filetypeText
uct.type.filetypeImage
uct.type.publicationResearchen_ZA
uct.type.resourceThesisen_ZA
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