Plague, Pestilence and Pandemic: Voices from History

In Plague, Pestilence and Pandemic: Voices from History (2021), editor Peter Furtado, best known for his work with History Today, curates a compelling collection of original historical sources documenting plagues and pandemics from Ancient Greece to the present day. The volume includes firsthand accounts of the Black Death, the 1918 Influenza Pandemic, and lesser-known outbreaks like the Antonine Plague, the Sweating Sickness, and the Cocoliztli Epidemic. Furtado also examines more contemporary crises, including Ebola and COVID-19, tracing the relationship between disease spread and the growth of sedentary civilizations.

Furtado conceptualizes pandemics as both agents of destruction and sources of insight, revealing their power to shape societies while exposing entrenched xenophobia. Historical records demonstrate how outbreaks have fueled stereotyping, such as syphilis being labeled the “French disease” in Italy and Germany, the “Italian disease” in France, and the “Christian disease” in Turkey. These accounts underscore the enduring patterns of scapegoating during health crises.

The historical narratives presented in Furtado’s work align with broader efforts to document and interpret the societal impacts of pandemics, as exemplified in our Telling COVID-19 Stories project.