The year of 1665, London was severely infected by the Plague. Many people were dying or already dead of infection. The city officials knew that measures would need to be in place to try to eliminate the spread of the disease. Daniel Defoe was a child at this time and later wrote about his experiences in 1722 in his book, A Journal of the Plague Year. In his book, the story and events are told from the perspective of H.F., a saddler. H.F. struggles in this story to deal with the tragedy that was spreading throughout London but he was satisfied with the way the city responded. The city was active and implemented many measures to keep the city safe; three of the most important measures of controlling the disease were the quarantine of houses, …show more content…
Many people were infected by the Plague and the city was trying to control the spread of the infection to others to eliminate more deaths and sickness through a Quarantine. Defoe explained, “There was one Shift that some Families had, and that not a few, when their Houses happened to be infected, and that was this; The Families, who in the first breaking out of the Distemper, fled away into the Country, and had Retreats among their Friends, generally found some or other of their Neighbours or Relations to commit the Charge of those Houses to, for the Safety of the Goods, and the like.” (Pg. 62). Most poor families were affected with the disease rather than wealthy families; this is because most of the wealthier families had fled the city to a safe place. An effective way of controlling the infection was by placing all infected people and houses under a quarantine, including all family members, which is similar to a hospital infirmary that allows no visitors unless authorized. When someone became ill and was discovered by an Examiner, Chirurgeon or …show more content…
This included the Lord Mayor and Aldermen of the City of London. The Aldermen, Deputies, and their Council would appoint Examiners to every Ward for a period of two months. If they refuse to take the position, they would be sent to prison until they acted appropriately. Examiners would be similar to hospital security guards because they make sure every thing is secure and contained. Defoe explains, “And if they find any Person sick of the Infection, to give order to the Constable that the House be shut up; and if the Constable shall be found Remiss or Negligent, to give present Notice thereof to the Alderman of the Ward.” (Pg. 36). An examiners job was to know which houses and people were infected. If any disease were discovered, they would then order the house to be quarantined until cleared of disease. Defoe stated another order, “If any Nurse-keeper shall remove herself out of any infected House before twenty eight Days after the Decease of any Person dying of the Infection, the House to which the said Nurse-keeper doth so remove her self, shall be shut up until the said twenty eight Days be expired.” (Pg.38). This is one of many orders placed by the lawmakers. Rules and regulations were put in place to maintain the spread of the disease. Orders were given that prevented assemblies of people such as plays, where the infection could spread