The Adoption of Inoculation for Smallpox in England and France / / Genevieve Miller.

• Superior document: Title is part of eBook package: De Gruyter University of Pennsylvania Press Package Archive 1898-1999
• VerfasserIn: Miller, Genevieve,
• Place / Publishing House: Philadelphia : : University of Pennsylvania Press, , [2018]; ©1957
• Year of Publication: 2018
• Language: English
• Series: Anniversary Collection
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (360 p.)

Smallpox inoculation in the eighteenth century was the genesis of modern immunology. This new method of purposely contracting a disease in order to secure protection from it was an empirical folk practice from the New East that ran counter to traditional European habits of thought in both medicine and religion.Based on diligent research in all available sources, this detailed study brings into relief the significant factors that made smallpox inoculation acceptable to Western Europeans-namely, the increasing threat and fear of the disease, particularly among the upper classes; a strong program led by members of such respected scientific groups and the Royal Society in London and the Academic Royale des Sciences in Paris; the interest and participation of both the English and French royal families who furnished an example for their subjects to emulate.In presenting this account of an important development in medical history Genevieve Miller offers evidence to prove that, contrary to the usual view, most religious leaders were not opposed to the practice of inoculation and that a number of them were active proponents. She also points out how, in the sphere of medical thought, experience with inoculation clarified ides concerning the etiology of smallpox by supplying proof that it originated with a specific material substance introduced into the human body from without.

Table of Contents

Frontmatter -- Preface -- Contents -- Illustrations -- 1. Introduction -- 2. The New Scourge: Smallpox -- 3. An Eastern Innovation -- 4. Royal Patronage: Inoculation in England, 1721-1722 -- 5. Reaction and Controversy, 1722-1729 -- 6. The New Art of Preventing Distempers. England, 1730-1755 -- 7. The Fate of Inoculation on the Continent -- 8. The Adoption of Inoculation in France -- 9. The Effect of Inoculation on Theories about Smallpox -- 10. Conclusion -- Appendix A The Early Histories Of Inoculation -- Appendix B. Check List of the Editions of Timoni and Pylarini -- Appendix C. Ratio of Deaths by Smallpox to 1000 Deaths from All Causeseighteenth Century -- Appendix D. German Doctoral Dissertations on Inoculation, 1720-1742 -- Bibliography -- Index