ILLNESS AND HEALTH CARE IN NEW FRANCE
Those who lived during the time of New France confirmed that the climate of the country was healthy and that most of the epidemics that affected the population - typhus, scurvy, smallpox, measles, etc. – came from the unhealthy ships that originated in Europe. However, the harshness of the climate, poor public hygiene and, moreover, the lack of personal hygiene were responsible for several illnesses. At the top of the list there were the respiratory diseases and other health problems, such as chilblains, that were caused by the cold of winter. These were followed by dysentery and intestinal worms, which were generally caused by poor water quality. The small rivers in the cities were used as open sewers and, in the countryside, the manure pile was often near the well. The hardness of daily work also led to a number of problems: back pain, hernias, and rheumatism.... Finally, there were also several cases of mange, toothaches, abscesses and cancer, not to mention venereal diseases such as syphilis.The people used various “home” remedies to treat these problems, since they could not afford the services of a surgeon or doctor.* In most cases, the interventions of surgeons and doctors were either without effect or even made the situation worse since, at the time, most treatments involved bleeding, enemas or purging. On the other hand, home remedies were generally gentler since they were based on plants. For example, an infusion of leaves from the common yarrow (Achillea Millefolium) was used to reduce fever, while comfrey (Symphytum Officinale) leaves were used in poultices to heal wounds and garlic was used as a vermifuge.
Needless to say, it is not a good idea to idealize the pharmacopoeia of our ancestors. Popular medical practices were still thoroughly grounded in superstition and many of these home remedies were closer to witchcraft than actual cures. Also, several rather wild remedies included the most unusual of ingredients: maple syrup, urine and sheep excrement to cure coughing, lead grains to remove corns, crushed lice to treat jaundice and oil from small dogs to treat rheumatism!
Finally, if all of these treatments failed, divine intercession remained the final recourse for treating ills of all kinds. Thus, people were encouraged to pray to St. Lucy for help with eye problems or to St. Blaise for throat problems. Each saint was attributed with the ability to heal one or more diseases. The belief that diseases were a form of divine punishment encouraged these practices.
In addition to the lack of hygiene and the harshness of the climate, nutrition played a role in the development of disease in the 17th and 18th centuries. To learn more about the daily diets of our ancestors, we invite you to return on November 2, 2004.
| * | To learn about the difference between the profession of doctor and that of surgeon under the French Regime, consult our chronicle Doctor or surgeon, what is the difference?, published earlier on our site. |
Source:
LACHANCE, André. Vivre, aimer et mourir en Nouvelle-France. La vie quotidienne aux 17e et 18e siècles, Montréal, Éditions Libre Expression, 2000, 222 p.