the plague and gin craze.

• Many new outbreaks between 1500 and 1617 but the worst outbreak was 1665-1666.

  Very terrifying as the symptoms were awful, death was frequent and people still had no idea what caused it.
• Some things believed to be causes were miasma, a punishment from god, there was also a growing theory that it might be close contact with infected people.
• 1518 Proclamation - straw to be hung in windows of infected homes, use a white stick if leaving home 
• 1578 plague orders - 17 measures to stop the spread of plague including; burning bedding, financial help for the sick and forcible quarantine for 6 weeks.
• 1604 plague act - increased financial help but,a slo set up harsh punishments, including death, for those who did not follow the policy of isolation.
• Yarmouth - pigs, dogs and cats banned from infected streets. 
• Eyam - quarantine itself to stop the plague spreading to Sheffield. 75% of people died in Eyam but, shelfield was saved.
• Cambridge- banned strangers entering unless they had a certificate of health.
• Towns printed ‘bills of mortality’ ; these were weekly lists of who had died and from what disease. 
• Individual responses.

  People went to church to pray 

   rich people left towns.

  People carried posies of sweet smelling flowers to combat ‘miasma’ 

   People started smoking tobacco as they were told this would help.

  People avoided the sick.

  Foreigners were blamed / banned from towns.

  Families stuck together and tyred to help each other
• Towns tried to improve the urban environment

  Common sense showed clean streets led to less disease

  York told people to clean the area outside their house and put out waste for scavengers after 7pm

  If people broke rules they were fined
• Town improvements for the rich

  Piped water was put into the homes of the rich

  Some streets were paved

  New big houses were built – especially in London after the Great Fire of London in 1666

  Street lights were put up on some streets
• Towns for the poor

  The Plague stopped coming after 1666

  Poorer areas of towns did not improve

  Privies, cesspits and contaminated water were still problems
• New, stronger drinks like Rum or strong beer meant people drank more alcohol
• Gin could be made easily and cheaply It was very strong and was addictive
• Adverts said ‘drunk for a penny, dead drunk for two pence’
• Crime rates soared, death rates increased
• Many women drank whilst pregnant leading to babies being born with deformities
• In 1734 Judith Defour killed her 2 year old daughter Mary so she could sell her clothes to buy gin!
• 1729 Gin Act - £20 licence fee for those selling gin and a 5 shilling tax per gallon for making it. Impossible to enforce as there were so many places selling gin
• 1736 Gin Act – increased licence fee to £50 and tax to 20 shillings. Still impossible to enforce
• 1751 Gin Act – set harsh punishments for those selling unlicensed gin. This worked and the amount of gin being drunk fell.