An assessment of health in post-medieval Ireland: ‘One vast Lazar house filled with famine, disease and death’

Three indicators of health and diet were selected to examine the health status in three socioeconomic groups in post-medieval Ireland. The aim was to examine the reliability of traditional skeletal markers of health in highly contextualised populations. The link between socio-economic status and health was examined to determine if traditional linking of poor health with poverty was evident in skeletal samples. The analysis indicated that this was indeed the case and that health was significantly compromised in populations of low socio-economic status. Thus it indicated that status intimately influences the physical body form. Sex was also found to be a major defining factor in the response of an individual to physiological stress. It was also evident that contemporary populations may suffer from different physiological stresses, and their responses to those stresses may differ. Adaptation was a key factor here. This has implications for studies of earlier populations that may lack detailed contextual data in terms of blanket applications of interpretations. The results also show a decline in health from the medieval through to the post-medieval period, which is intimately linked with the immense social changes and all the related effects of these. The socio-economic structure of post-medieval Ireland was a direct result of the British policies in Ireland. The physical form of the Irish may be seen to have occurred as a result of those policies, with the Irish poor in particular suffering substantial health problems, even in contrast to the poor of Britain. This study has enriched the recorded historical narrative of this period of the recent past, and highlights more nuanced narratives may emerge from the osteoarchaeological analysis when sound contextual information is available. It also examines a period in Irish history that, until very recently, had been virtually untouched in terms of archaeological study.

Cholera in Haiti and other Caribbean regions, 19th century.

Medical journals and other sources do not show evidence that cholera occurred in Haiti before 2010, despite the devastating effect of this disease in the Caribbean region in the 19th century. Cholera occurred in Cuba in 1833-1834; in Jamaica, Cuba, Puerto Rico, St. Thomas, St. Lucia, St. Kitts, Nevis, Trinidad, the Bahamas, St. Vincent, Granada, Anguilla, St. John, Tortola, the Turks and Caicos, the Grenadines (Carriacou and Petite Martinique), and possibly Antigua in 1850-1856; and in Guadeloupe, Cuba, St. Thomas, the Dominican Republic, Dominica, Martinique, and Marie Galante in 1865-1872. Conditions associated with slavery and colonial military control were absent in independent Haiti. Clustered populations, regular influx of new persons, and close quarters of barracks living contributed to spread of cholera in other Caribbean locations. We provide historical accounts of the presence and spread of cholera epidemics in Caribbean islands.

Scurvy in the Great Irish Famine: Evidence of Vitamin C Deficiency From a Mid-19th Century Skeletal Population

Scurvy has increasingly been recognized in archaeological populations since the 1980s but this study represents the first examination of the paleopathological findings of scurvy in a known famine population. The Great Famine (1845–1852) was a watershed in Irish history and resulted in the death of one million people and the mass emigration of just as many. It was initiated by a blight which completely wiped out the potato—virtually the only source of food for the poor of Ireland. This led to mass starvation and a widespread occurrence of infectious and metabolic diseases. A recent discovery of 970 human skeletons from mass burials dating to the height of the famine in Kilkenny City (1847–1851) provided an opportunity to study the skeletal manifestations of scurvy—a disease that became widespread at this time due to the sudden lack of Vitamin C which had previously almost exclusively been provided by the potato. A three-scale diagnostic reliance approach has been employed as a statistical aid for diagnosing the disease in the population. A biocultural approach was adopted to enable the findings to be contextualized and the etiology and impact of the disease explored. The results indicate that scurvy indirectly influenced famine-induced mortality. A sex and stature bias is evident among adults in which males and taller individuals displayed statistically significantly higher levels of scorbutic lesions. The findings have also suggested that new bone formation at the foramen rotundum is a diagnostic criterion for the paleopathological identification of scurvy, particularly among juveniles. Am J Phys Anthropol, 2012. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Some aspects of history of Indian mathematics in 18th and early 19th century

This thesis is an attempt to throw light on the works of some Indian Mathematicians who wrote in Arabic or persian In the Introductory Chapter on outline of general history of Mathematics during the eighteenth Bnd nineteenth century has been sketched. During that period there were two streams of Mathematical activity. On one side many eminent scholers, who wrote in Sanskrit, .he l d the field as before without being much influenced by other sources. On the other side there were scholars whose writings were based on Arabic and Persian text but who occasionally drew upon other sources also.

Cultural connections across time and place : Wardell's late 19th century Genazzano FCJ College Kew

The Catholic Church was profoundly affected by the 1872 Victorian Education Act, which made education secular, compulsory and free, and led to the withdrawal of state aid to religious schools. In order for the Church to run its own schools, it had to look overseas for help and invited religious teaching orders, such as the Faithful Companions of Jesus (FCJs) to set up schools in Victoria, Australia. In many instances purpose built buildings were designed by architects. William Wardell was well established in private practice in Sydney when he designed the new Convent and School, Kew, Victoria, for the FCJ Sisters, in the late 1880s. Building commenced just before the crash of Marvellous Melbourne. Less than half of the total concept of Wardell’s original plan was built. It opened for business in April 1891. Today this building forms the heart of the contemporary Genazzano FCJ College Kew. Many histories intersect in this commission. The vision for Catholic education in Victoria in the late 19th century is critical. The FCJs charism and their experience of teaching in Europe, in France, England, Ireland, Italy and Switzerland, provides a model for their work in Australia. At this time the importance of architecture to society is made manifest in education and its demands on building: if learning is valued then buildings should reflect this, for public buildings can shape morality. Wardell was trained as a Gothic Revival architect and his building participates in a broader medieval and Gothic tradition. Wardell’s original plan for this late Victorian Gothic style asymmetrical three-storeyed building, was designed to integrate a convent, school, chapel, and dormitories. This paper considers architectural history from diverse perspectives, educational, social, religious, economic and political, recognising the complexity of this project and the people who played a part in its conception and realisation.

History of the Mongols, from the 9th to the 19th century.

First published in London, 1876-1927.

History of the Mongols, from the 9th to the 19th century ...

"Sources from which the history of the Mongols ... has been collected": pt. 1, p. xvi-xxvii.