Cholera in the City of Poznań: Did the Death Toll of the 1866 Cholera Epidemic Reflect Social and Economic Differences?

Abstract The objective of this paper is to study whether and to what extent the 1866 cholera epidemic reflected social and economic differences. Individuallevel information on the deceased in Poznań in 1866 was collected from parish death registers. The different exposure levels, sickness and death rates in the different city districts of Poznań are discussed at length. What becomes evident from the quantitative results: the poorest social groups were the most frequent victims of cholera, due to poor living conditions, malnutrition, poor hygiene, lack of awareness of the risks, and pursuit of professions that increased the risk of exposure to germs. Women, who performed domestic work as servants or at home, were at especially high risk of exposure and death. However, cholera also affected those better off: while they contracted the disease less often, if they did so, they were more likely to succumb to it. The approach and methods used show the complexities of a 19 th century local epidemic in great granularity.