Along with agriculture and slavery, disease was a dominant aspect of life in Colonial South Carolina. During this time, death by disease was most prevalent in South Carolina. The South’s reputation was in danger due to the poor health of the colonies. Immigration and investment opportunities for the south were discouraged as soon as word of the epidemics broke out. While news of the high rate of disease hindered their reputation, the south soon became an image of poverty and ignorance as well. The South quickly became the picture of poor health.
Those who resided in the southern port cities were at fear daily of catching yellow fever, among other diseases. The bacteria and infections that caused these illnesses were thought to have come in from the tropical regions, incoming ships, and settlers. Some of the diseases brought into Colonial South Carolina were yellow fever, malaria and typhus. Rats and insects, specifically cockroaches and mosquitoes, were also carriers of infections that caused these diseases. Charleston’s warm climate made it a hotspot for diseases. Aside from the appealing conditions the heat brought to insects, it also created sanitary problems which attracted infections. The heat proved difficult for the preservation of food and caused settlers to walk around barefoot, which was a main cause of hookworm .
The migration of settlers brought infectious diseases from Africa, Europe and the Caribbean. Rice cultivation and plantation also added to the spreading of diseases. The process of cultivating rice included working in large bodies of standing fresh water, which attracted the breeding of mosquitoes and allowed diseases to thrive. Settlers who migrated to colonial South Carolina at this time were not aware that they were entering an infected colony. During this time, the level of education in the South was the lowest of the nation. This complicated health issues even more, emphasizing the image of ignorance the South represented during this time. Poverty also complicated health issues, as the South could not afford proper medical professionals to research the causes of disease.
The first smallpox epidemic occurred in Charleston during 1698, which was followed by an earthquake several months later. During the rebuilding of the town, a yellow fever epidemic struck. By 1775, South Carolina settlers had faced almost sixty major epidemics, yellow fever being the most reoccurring of them all. During this time, over 4,700 fatalities due to yellow fever were recorded. Charleston suffered more epidemics than any other ports of British America. Visitors and settlers’ lifestyles and cultures suffered from these epidemics. Often, the beginning stages of the disease were unrecognizable and went untreated, which resulted in death. Charleston newspapers often excluded the recorded deaths in their city, acknowledging only those who died in places such as New Orleans and other colonies. Colonists did not include information on the epidemics in their promotion of the colony, maintaining the idea that Charleston was healthful, in order to attract trade and immigrants.
The first document included accounts the personal struggles Gideon Johnston suffered due to disease during his life in Colonial South Carolina. The second document is a letter from Dr. John Lining to Dr. Robert Wyatt , in which he describes the epidemic of the yellow fever, which prevailed in Charleston in the eighteenth century, and the fatal symptoms.
- Papers of Gideon Johnston
- Description of the American Yellow Fever, Dr. John Lining to Dr. Robert Wyatt
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