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“The contribution made by the colonies went beyond the financial aspect, and colonies gave more than what they received in return\u201d, underlined Rita Pemberton, from the University of York (Credit: Roberto Jesus Oscar \/ Casa de Oswaldo Cruz).<\/p><\/div>\n
Professor at the University of York, Rita Pemberton introduced her paper Prelude to Rockefeller: Health problems in Trinidad and Tobago, 1900-1930<\/em> during the workshop Tropical Diseases in Latin America and the Caribbean: A Historical Perspective<\/strong>. In her exposition, Pemberton highlighted the challenge imposed by the imperial expansion, which stimulated the development of tropical medicine and contributed towards the foundation of specialized publications and medical schools in Europe. The researcher focused on the health situation in Trinidad and Tobago in the first three decades of the 20th<\/sup> century, when the colony was under Britain\u2019s domain explored due to its cocoa and oil fields.<\/p>\n The Journal of Tropical Medicine, from 1898, and the London School on Tropical Medicine, created in October 1899 are such examples of publications and institutions. The American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene was created in 1903. According to Pemberton, those institutions were responsible for the research on diseases like malaria, sleeping sickness, ancylostomiasis, some of which have already been eradicated. Such institutions became reference on medical issues that affected the tropics.<\/p>\n \u201cWe should not, however, presume that this was a gift from the British Empire to its colonies\u201d observed Pemberton. \u201cIn reference to Trinidad and Tobago, the contribution made by the colonies went beyond the financial aspect, and colonies gave more than what they received in return in the short term\u201d, underlined.<\/p>\n Although the colonies were rich in natural resources, they lacked in infrastructure. According to the research, the islands were among the most prosperous in the region during the first decades of the 20th<\/sup> century, but this wealth was not reflected in the population\u2019s health or sanitary conditions.<\/p>\n Health conditions in Trinidad and Tobago<\/strong><\/p>\n A smallpox epidemic took over the islands in the beginning of the 20th<\/sup> century but the authorities did not recognize it. Pemberton observed that the official data was rather modest: there were 4335 cases recorded, with 27 deaths. \u201cThose figures could have been as much as double\u201d, pointed out the researcher.<\/p>\n In 1912 a dysentery epidemic attacked 3179 people in Tobago, resulting in 466 deaths. Among the causes, the protracted drought, which reduced the availability of goods and provoked poverty and famine, was cited as the main source of illness. Assumptions on the pest, ignorance, and superstition were the \u201cofficial explanations for all the diseases in the colonies during that period\u201d, observed Pemberton. \u201cHowever, it is a fact that there were no adequate medical facilities or hygiene conditions available to the population, a situation that persisted until the decade of 1950\u201d, underlined.<\/p>\n Malaria, tuberculosis and ancylostomiasis, as well as dysentery and venereal diseases, were the main causes of death, which also affected the infant mortality rate. The figured reached 148.7 for 1000 inhabitants, described by the authorities as \u201cnot exactly ideal\u201d.<\/p>\n The International Health Commission in Trinidad and Tobago<\/strong><\/p>\n The International Health Commission launched a campaign against the ancylostomiasis in Trinidad and Tobago, where the disease was considered serious, but it was not completely eradicated.\u00a0 Nevertheless, the objective was to contribute towards an improvement in the hygiene conditions in the colonies, especially in areas inhabited by the indigenous population. Measures were executed from August 1914 in the cities of San Fernando and Sangre Grande until December 1924 in Tobago.<\/p>\n An important aspect of the campaign were the experiments on patients without their knowledge or consent. In such cases, Chenopodium oil was utilized in heavier doses than what is normally accepted (50 drops instead of three).<\/p>\n In 1883, the doctor Bevan Rake, who was superintendent at the leprosy asylum, conducted experiences without the patients\u2019 consent utilizing mercury ointment, chaulmoogra oil and nitric acid, pointed out Pemberton. According to her, the human cost of the experiments was never evaluated. This power allowed Europeans a \u201cgreater control on the bodies of non-white patients who were regarded as the ideal test subjects\u201d.<\/p>\n According to the researcher, the sickness was caused by the \u201cstupidity and ignorance of patients\u201d, being the norm in the non-white communities. The notion of tropical medicine did not correct such assumptions and contributed to the lack of notification of the problem among the highest authorities.<\/p>\n \u201cFor the underprivileged groups in Trinidad and Tobago, this new field of research did not stimulated any change in their day-to-day lives\u201d concluded Pemberton.<\/p>\n Source: Casa de Oswaldo Cruz<\/a><\/p>\n See related articles in HCS-Manguinhos:<\/strong><\/p>\n Tropical medicine in the 19th and 20th centuries. Editor\u2019s note<\/a> of HCS-Manguinhos (vol.21, no.2, Apr.\/Jun. 2014<\/a>) by Jaime Benchimol.<\/p>\n See further presentations at the workshop:<\/strong><\/p>\n La fiebre amarilla y el papel central de La Habana en el siglo 19<\/a>.\u00a0Steven Palmer<\/strong> speaks on the central role of La Habana in the investigations on yellow fever during the 19th<\/sup> century.<\/p>\n \u201cRace is never silenced in scientific inquiry\u201d<\/a>.\u00a0Interview with Tara Inniss<\/strong> discusses how racial categorizations continue to form a major part of epidemiological investigation in the Caribbean and elsewhere.<\/p>\n La c\u00f3lera, la desinformaci\u00f3n y el comercio en Veracruz<\/a>. Beau Gaitors <\/strong>y Chris Willoughby<\/strong> exploran el problema comercial y sanitario enfrentado por el puerto mexicano en el siglo 19.<\/p>\n The polar chamber and the freezing of Cuba politics<\/a>. Francisco Javier Mart\u00ednez-Antonio<\/strong> explains the polar chamber\u2019s way to freeze Cuba in medical and political terms in the 19th century.<\/p>\n El combate de la fiebre amarilla en Guatemala y las bananas<\/a>. Talia Rebeca Haro Bar\u00f3n discute la intervenci\u00f3n de actores locales y extranjeros en el control de la fiebre amarilla y la transformaci\u00f3n del conocimiento cient\u00edfico.<\/p>\n