Bela krajina v epidemičnih letih 1724 in 1725

Abstract

The paper discusses the events of the epidemic years 1724 and 1725 in White Carniola, the southeasternmost region of the Duchy of Carniola and present-day Slovenia. By establishing a system of border military guards against the neighbouring Croatia, this region, and with it Carniola, in 1724 successfully warded off the plague that had appeared in northwestern Bosnia in the Ottoman Empire. The guards were more effective being supplied by the regular imperial army. At the end of that year and the beginning of the following one, several infectious diseases affected the population of White Carniola simultaneously, causing high mortality. A comprehensive medical report on the spread, prevention, and treatment of the diseases has been preserved, the earliest of its kind known to us. It is a first-class source on the health and hygienic conditions in the region that is also revealing from the cultural and historical points of view.