Naissance des quarantaines en Valachie (1830)

In response to the unpredictable spread of plague and cholera epidemics in Europe and the Middle East, in the early 1830s a cordon sanitaire was established along the southern border of Wallachia. Quarantines and lazarettos were the main means of fighting against the sanitary danger spreading, especially from the southern regions of the Danube. The establishing the first quarantines stations along the Danube frontier was a long and demanding undertaking. It required the careful selection of appropriate locations, as well as the recruitment and on-site training of personnel. Our paper investigated the first efforts of the Wallachian authorities to establish quarantines and enforce sanitary regulations as tools to control the disease spreading through social mobility.