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1853: Juan Cabot y Suñol's grave in Tiana

1853: Juan Cabot y Suñol’s grave in Tiana

Edmund Charles Wendt wrote of the 1830s Asiatic cholera epidemic that

Spanish quarantine was rigorously enforced, except among the troops. Every other traveler from the infected district was detained, and even threatened with death and confiscation of goods, if he did not go through all the formalities; and also all those who harbored him. But cholera broke out soon, of course, in many provinces in Spain, reached Madrid, and was even carried over to Barcelona on the east coast.

In the 50s prevention failed once again and rich and poor perished in the great Catalan epidemic of 1853-6, many after spending ridiculous sums of money on bizarre cures. Here’s a typical freeware remedy of the time:

Boil roughly two ounces of rosemary sprigs with two purrons, ie 1.88l] of water, mixing in half an ounce of sublimated sulphur, when it has boiled down to a quantity equivalent to a patricó [container a quarter of the size of a porrón], remove it from the fire and store it until the morning of the following day, when at first light and on an empty stomach it should be passed through a sieve, filling a patricó and adding two spoonfuls [curllaradas] of red sugar [suca roix, from sucre rouge], it is taken at once. It has been observed that no one has suffered an attack of this terrible sickness if they take just four cups early in the morning and on an empty stomach. If the person suffers an attack, then the dose is doubled, repeating every two hours until heavy sweating is induced. We print this recipe, not out of self-interest, since we are giving it away free, being inspired solely by the conviction that we have of its efficacy and to see if we can be of assistance to our fellow men.

One of the most interesting things about this is the language in which it is written. I don’t know whether the experts would want to regard it as some kind of proto-xava, but it certainly gives the lie to the notion that “Catalan” way back then was somehow purer (in the sense of being free of “Spanish” and other dangerous alien influence) than it is now.

Tags: Barcelona, Madrid, Spain, Tiana
Categories: Chronic diseases, Liberals & locals

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1. kalebeul
   March 20th 2005 18:47 Another cholera cure
   … and a brief note on Catalonia’s contribution to popular culture.

2. kalebeul » I had a large farmhouse in the Catalan mountains and I burnt it down
   April 13th 2005 09:48

   [...] o that quadro and cuadro become quadro, am and ab become amb, and something as deliciously cholera curish as desde’l balcó becomes a drab des del balcó. This is no doubt the [...]

3. kalebeul » Killer cure
   May 9th 2008 19:26

   [...] by Barcelona belly, I’ve been trying out this 19th century cholera cure. It’s better with rice, but I’m still surprised more people didn’t die. [...]