OBSERVATIONS AND EXAMINATIONS OF SOUTHGATE ON PLAGUE IN ISTANBUL

Throughout history the epidemics have caused radical changes and transformation to be experienced having affected the communities politically, administratively, socially and economically. One of the epidemics that negatively affected the mankind has been plague. It was discovered in the 19th century that the bacteria that caused plague was “Yersinia pestis”. Due to its location and the geography on which she spread, the Ottoman State had to face with plague epidemics having been experienced frequently. The Ottomans not only accumulated information from the very early periods but also went through changes in their perception and attitude towards it through the course of time. The purpose of this study is to deal with and evaluate the subjects such as the nature of plague, the reasons of its outbreak, the precautions taken against this disease, the ravages it created upon the socio-economic life of İstanbul in the 1839 plague epidemics will be dealt with through the travel accounts of American Presbyterian missionary, Horatio Southgate and thus make some contributions to the literature.