Setting
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Downtown London had a high influx of people which lead to poor sanitation in the streets.
This combined with misconceptions regarding sanitation and diseases in general contributed to the rapid spread of Cholera in Soho areas.
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It is widely known that London in the victorian era was dirty and lacked poor sanitation.
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At the beginning of the century, most of the population of London resided in the countryside. Industrialization quickly changed that as the need for factory labour started attracting more and more people to move downtown. This was rapid growth, with the population doubling between the 1800s and 1850. This rapid growth leads to overpopulation and overcrowding in Soho and the surrounding areas.
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The public services, which were already outdated, were put under a lot of strain and quickly became incapable and almost useless, as the population of London continued to grow. The amount of waste that was being created daily quickly put a strain on these public systems. particularly that of sewage and freshwater supply.
Illustration published by Punch magazine in July 1985, illustrates the conditions of the Thames during the great stink.
Illustration published by Punch magazine in July 1985, illustrates the conditions of the Thames during the great stink.
Published in July of 1858, this illustration shows the state of the Thames at the time.
This illustration shows the pollution and contamination or "monsters" that were found in the dirty waters of the Thames.
Published in July of 1858, this illustration shows the state of the Thames at the time.
Illustration published by Punch magazine in July 1985, illustrates the conditions of the Thames during the great stink.
Illustration depicting the living conditions at the time.
Illustration depicting the state of the slums during the Victorian era.
This depicts not only the severity of the outbreak but the lack of proper measures to protect the population from disease.
Illustration depicting the living conditions at the time.
Factory waste, animal droppings from cows, horses, and other animals, waste from nearby slaughterhouses, and human waste were constantly being dumped into the Thames River.
This created a very dirty and unsanitary scene in Downton London which was later referred to as the Great Stink.
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Another key factor was that of misinformation.
At the time there was very little understanding of diseases, not only from the general population but from health professionals as well. Because of this people continued to bathe and drink from the Thames, despite all the contamination and stench that was found in the river. Although it might seem obvious now, there was little knowledge of how diseases were spread and what could cause them.
Broad Street
The Broad street outbreak is not the cause of the 1854 Cholera pandemic but rather an effect of it.
The reason why this outbreak is commonly referred to as the Broadstreet pump outbreak is due to the large scale of lives this localized outbreak claimed. With 127 people dying in the span of 3 days and the numbers rapidly rising to 500 in the span of a week for the inhabitants of the area with an overall total of 616 people dying.
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Although not an isolated incident the scale of this particular outbreak and the impact it had on the scientific community makes it noteworthy.
Filth was not the single factor to blame for the outbreaks, ignorance, and misconceptions regarding the spreading and cause of the illness also played a big role.
At the time there was no regard or really any notion of contamination so constant dumping of waste into the Thames river resulted in faster spread of the disease due to it also being the main source of water for most of the city, because of the previously mentioned outdated sewage system.
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Public's Reaction
As previously mentioned, a key contributor to the rapid spread of the disease was the public's lack of knowledge on how the disease could be contracted.
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Although it has been disproven now, Miasma was a popular theory that proposed that the air was "poisoned" due to the rotting and decomposing materials.
This theory was seen as the culprit for many diseases throughout centuries, from the bubonic plague to Cholera, and, considering that stench, pollution, and poor sanitation were everyday occurrences in Victorian London coupled with a limited understanding of bacteria and diseased as a whole, it is easy to see why this was a popular belief.
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Sources
Abbott, T. (2020, October 19). The silent highwayman. Retrieved April 17, 2021, from https://editions.covecollective.org/content/silent-highwayman
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Museum of London. (2018, December 19). Air pollution, the Great STINK & the Great Smog. Retrieved April 17, 2021, from https://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/discover/londons-past-air
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Slums. (2014, February 13). Retrieved April 17, 2021, from https://www.bl.uk/romantics-and-victorians/articles/slums
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Taylor, R. (2019, November 25). Filthy Victorian London. Retrieved April 17, 2021, from https://owlcation.com/humanities/Filthy-Victorian-London
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​Monster soup commonly called thames water - graphic arts. (n.d.). Retrieved April 17, 2021, from https://www.princeton.edu/~graphicarts/2012/10/thomas_mclean_and_his_caricatu.html