A City Facing The Plague: Dubrovnik, 1691

Abstract

This article focuses on the circumstances surrounding the outbreak and spreading of the last urban plague that struck the area of Dubrovnik in 1691. Attention is given to the main sources of the disease in the city, adoption of plague control measures, as well as the persons who took part in the defence against plague. Some plague victims have been identified, and their social networks reconstructed. Noble families who were isolated on suspicion of the disease have been identified. Also examined are the conflict situations that occurred as consequence of the implementation of the plague control measures in the city. Lastly, governement expenditures related to the anti-epidemic measures are analysed, along with the representation of the epidemic conditions in the several letters of the Senate.