Puerto Cabello and the Bubonic Plague epidemic (1903-1908)

Epidemics have a social-economic character which affect certain historic periods. The Bubonic Plague, known as the Black Death, in the Middle Ages, caused the deaths of a quarter of Europe's population. The last plague epidemic originated in China, in the year 1893, and then spread to Europe at the end of the century. The French port of Marseille, in 1903, was the open door to the American Continent, the plague being detected in Panama in 1905 and officially recognised by Cipriano Castro's Government in 1908. The Venezuelan epidemic occurred during the Liberal Restoration Period. It was met by the Sanitary Authorities with a vision of 'medical positivism'. In our present research, we analyze the importance of Puerto Cabello, together with La Guaira and Cumana, the ports of arrival for the major quanity of European imports by steamships during 1903-1908. The sanitary strategy of medical health advisors and the nonfulfilment of proposed rules within the framework of the crisis of the Venezuelan Liberalism allowed the illness to enter and spread.