This study examines the cholera epidemic in Montreal during the summer of 1832, focusing on the Montreal Board of Health, the public health regulations, medical involvement on the Board, and the voluntary movement. Using newspapers, judicial documents, and correspondence, it seeks to re-examine the epidemic to further the understanding of the modernization of the Canadian state in the area of public health. / Many of the histories concerning the modernization of the Lower Canadian state have focussed on the 1837 rebellions as a breaking point between the 'old' state and the 'modern' state. If modernization can be equated with the process of increased state influence on society, then the 1832 epidemic provided an opportunity for the government to become more involved in the social regulation of individual lives. And the process was not solely influenced by the 'state,' as citizen committees played a role during the epidemic. Nor must Lower Canada be seen in a vacuum, as the shifts that occurred in Montreal during the epidemic coincided with those taking place in London, Paris and New York. / An analysis of the state during the epidemic suggests its growing significance in individual lives, particularly those of the poor. The appearance of cholera hospitals, the use and enforcement of public health regulations by a board of health, and the social assistance to the immigrants, orphans, and widows illustrate this modernizing state.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:QMM.27970 |
| Date | January 1997 |
| Creators | Sendzik, Walter. |
| Contributors | Young, Brian (advisor) |
| Publisher | McGill University |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Coverage | Master of Arts (Department of History.) |
| Rights | All items in eScholarship@McGill are protected by copyright with all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated. |
| Relation | alephsysno: 001614892, proquestno: MQ37236, Theses scanned by UMI/ProQuest. |
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