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Passage through India: Global Vaccination and British India, 1800–05

2007; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 35; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/03086530701337492

1743-9329

Michael J. Bennett,

Vaccine Coverage and Hesitancy

Abstract Between 1798 and 1805 the novel practice of vaccination spread rapidly around the globe, and its first introduction into India needs to be seen as the initiative of Edward Jenner and his followers rather than imperial policy. Against a background of military and imperial expansion, however, the British in India and Ceylon supported vaccination with resources and energy lacking at home. This paper examines the technical problems associated with the establishment of vaccination, the promotional and organisational strategies deployed, and the varied responses of the local population. The results were spectacular, with a million vaccinations – more than in Europe – by 1807, but the initial momentum was hard to maintain, not least because many Indians found the procedure intrusive and religiously offensive. Vaccination created new tensions in Anglo-Indian relations that anticipated and merged with the issues of imperial medicine that later became so salient in India. Nevertheless, the early campaigns established the practice firmly in parts of India and provided lessons, and inspiration for the vaccination cause worldwide. Acknowledgements I would like to thank Dr Asim Roy, Dr Kate Brittlebank and Dr Michael Powell for comments and assistance. Notes 1. Greenough, 'Variolation and Vaccination in South Asia'; Arnold, Colonizing the Body; Harrison, Public Health in British India. 2. Arnold, Colonizing the Body, 144. 3. Banthia and Dyson, 'Smallpox in Nineteenth-Century India'; Banthia and Dyson, 'Smallpox and Impact of Vaccination'; Brimnes, 'The Sympathising Heart'; Brimnes, 'Variolation, Vaccination and Popular Resistance'; Bhattacharya, Harrison and Worboys, Fractured States. 4. For 'the globalization driven by the reorientation of the British empire in the late eighteenth century', see Ballantyne, 'Empire, Knowledge and Culture'. For the imperial context, see Bayly, Imperial Meridian. 5. In general see Fenner et al., Smallpox and its Eradication. The terms 'variolation' and 'vaccination' will be used strictly to refer, respectively, to inoculation with smallpox and to inoculation with cowpox. 6. Arnold, Colonizing the Body, 127–29. 7. For Jenner, see Fisher, Edward Jenner, and for cowpox, see Baxby, Jenner's Smallpox Vaccine. 8. For the beginnings of the vaccination movement, see Saunders, Jenner: The Cheltenham Years. 9. Bercé, Le Chaudron et la lancette, 20. The term 'vaccination' was used in India as early as October 1802, F228/58, 37r. Fitzpatrick Papers, Oriental and India Office Collections (hereafter OIOC), British Library (hereafter BL). 10. Christie, Ravages in Ceylon by Small-pox, 3–13. 11. Brimnes, 'Sympathizing Heart', 198 and 331, n. 35. 12. Additional MS. 35,262. fos. 22 r–v, BL. 13. Christie, Ravages in Ceylon by Small-pox, 17n. 14. Baron, Life of Jenner, I, 410–12. 15. Keir, Introduction of Cowpox, 9–10. 16. Christie, Ravages in Ceylon by Small-pox, 17–18. 17. Keir, Introduction of Cowpox, 410–12. An initiative of this sort on the Glatton, bound for Botany Bay in 1802, failed through lack of support from the ship's surgeon: Anderson, Extermination of Small-pox, 20. 18. Young, Colonial Office in Early Nineteenth Century, ch. 1; Furber, Henry Dundas, chs 4–5. 19. Dundas to North, 16 March 1801, CO 55/61, 364. The National Archives (hereafter TNA). 20. Baron, Life of Jenner, I, 409. The interviews are undated, but presumably occurred after Hobart assumed office in spring 1801. For the scheme: Jenner to Hobart, 17 Jan. 1803, CO 54/12, 12r–13v. 21. Smith, 'The "Real Expedición Marítima de la Vacuna"'; Martin, La Salud del Imperio. 22. Baron, Life of Jenner, I, 408–10; Crew to Penn, 4 Jan. 1803, CO 54/12, 1r–v; Christie, Ravages in Ceylon by Small-pox, 17n; Peiris, Sinhale and the Patriots, 505–06. 23. The first successful vaccination in Istanbul – that of the Elgins' infant son – took place on 7 September 1800. Baron, Life of Jenner, I, 414. Harford Jones in Baghdad was kept informed about cowpox by his wife in Wales: Sarah Jones to Harford Jones, 1800, AL40/7769–87, Kentchurch Court Archive, Herefordshire Record Office (hereafter HRO). 24. Keir, Introduction of Cowpox, 10–12. 25. Jones to Mills, 12 March 1802, Additional MS. 41,767, 149r; De Carro to Jones, 1802, AL40/6497–98, HRO. De Carro did not mention that the vaccine had been obtained from Dr Luigi Sacco of Milan. Sacco subsequently propagated lymph directly from horse-grease, leading to the later, mistaken assertion that India had been 'equinated' not 'vaccinated': Baron, Life of Jenner, I, 429–30; Baxby, Jenner's Smallpox Vaccine, 176. 26. Jones to Dundas, 6 April 1802, and Jones to Mills, 13 May 1802, Additional MS. 41,767, 168r, 185v. Mr Milne, surgeon at Basra, vaccinated three crew members on the Viper and a boy on the Alert, prior to their departure for India: Keir, Introduction of Cowpox, 106–08. The vaccine successfully introduced in Bombay was preserved on thread between plates of glass: Anderson, Extermination of Small-pox, 13. 27. Keir, Introduction of Cowpox, 18–20, quotation at 18. 28. Ibid., 19–20. 29. Christie, Ravages in Ceylon by Small-pox, 26–27. 30. Keir, Introduction of Cowpox, 26–27, 32–33. 31. Ibid., 31–32, 35–36. 32. Shoolbred, Report on Vaccine Inoculation in Bengal 1802–03, 4, 86–89. 33. Christie, Ravages in Ceylon by Small-pox, 21. 34. Keir, Introduction of Cowpox, 90. 35. Horsman to Anderson, Dec. 1802, P/255/53, 4025–32, OIOC, BL. 36. Christie, Ravages in Ceylon by Small-pox, 28–29. 37. Ibid., 42–43. 38. Keir, Introduction of Cowpox, 88–90. 39. Christie, Ravages in Ceylon by Small-pox, 29–36. 40. Keir, Introduction of Cowpox, 109. 41. Military Letter, Madras, 22 Feb. 1803, F/4/153/2613, 8–9, OIOC. 42. Baron, Life of Jenner, I, 413. 43. Christie, Ravages in Ceylon by Small-pox, 49–51. 44. Table of inoculations, Madras, 6 Nov. 1802, F/4/153/2613, 23–26. 45. Wellesley to Court of Directors, 13 Mar. 1803, F/4/169/2985, 4. 46. The progress of vaccination in Britain depended entirely on personal initiatives and voluntary associations. 47. Christie, Ravages in Ceylon by Small-pox, 33–36. 48. Governor in Council to Medical Board, 5 May 1803, F/4/169/2985, 27–28. 49. Medical Board, Madras, 3 Jan. 1803, F/4/153/2613, 75, 91–92. The Madras authorities had used indigenous inoculators in the variolation campaign of 1800: Brimnes, 'Sympathising Heart ', 198. 50. In 1803 Lord Clive, governor of Madras, presented him with a horse and a pair of golden bangles inscribed 'in token of his lordship's approbation of his personal activity in extending the benefits of inoculation': King, 'Introduction of Vaccination into India', 413–14. 51. Medical Board, Calcutta, 29 March 1803, F/4/169/2985, 17–23. 52. Public Letter, Madras, 22 Feb. 1803, F/4/153/2613, 2–3. 53. Medical Board, Calcutta, 29 March and 16 May 1803, F/4/169/2985, 24–26, 29–33. 54. F228/58, 37r. Fitzpatrick Papers; Dalrymple, White Mughals, 337. 55. Anderson, Extermination of Small-pox, 18. 56. Baron, Life of Jenner, II, 12. The event probably took place after the British defeat of Sindhia late in 1803. 57. Keir, Introduction of Cowpox, 35–36; Christie, Ravages in Ceylon by Small-pox, 58. 58. Christie, Ravages in Ceylon by Small-pox, 36–42. 59. Public Letter, Madras, 22 Feb. 1803, F/4/153/2613, 1–2. 60. Shoolbred, Report on Vaccine Inoculation in Bengal 1802–03, 88. 61. Medical Board, Madras, 3 Jan. 1803, F/4/153/2613, 48–49, 52, 93, 126–27, quotation at 52. 62. Forbes, Oriental Memoirs, 423–24; Fulford and Lee, 'The Beast Within', 14. 63. Keir, Introduction of Cowpox, 94–95. 64. Naraindas, 'Care, Welfare, and Treason', 80–83. 65. Wujastyk, 'Indian Claims for Vaccination', 131–67. 66. Jenner's friend and biographer mistakenly reported that Ellis wrote in Sanskrit and implied that he had passed it off as an ancient text: Baron, Life of Jenner, I, 557–58. 67. Shoolbred, Report on Vaccine Inoculation in Bengal 1802–03, 54–56. 68. Dr Scott claimed in December 1806 that Bombay had not suffered 'for several years': Baron, Life of Jenner, II, 92. 69. Mackenzie to Governor-in-Council of Madras, 1 March 1805, P/255/53, 4016–19. 70. Table of vaccinations, Madras, 1805, 'Smallpox', item 6, Jenneriana BF, The Wellcome Library for the History and Understanding of Medicine. 71. Shoolbred and his assistants vaccinated 1,580 people in Calcutta. James McNab at Patna notched up 1,625 inoculations, mainly of Hindus. The figures from other stations were less impressive, the best being 652 at Dacca. Among the freelances, Charles Todd vaccinated more than 2,000 at Rangpur: Shoolbred, Report on Vaccine Inoculation in Bengal 1802–03, 10–15. 72. Shoolbred, Report on Vaccine Inoculation in Bengal 1804, 1–6. 73. Military Letter, Madras, 22 Feb. 1803, F/4/169/2985, 5–9. 74. Christie, Ravages in Ceylon by Small-pox, 69, 73–74. 75. Anderson, Extermination of Small-pox, 18–19. 76. Brimnes, 'Variolation, Vaccination and Popular Resistance', 205–06, 224–25. Mackenzie nonetheless greatly esteemed Swami Naik, presenting him with a gold snuff box in 1807: King, 'Introduction of Vaccination into India', 414. 77. In Calcutta Shoolbred vaccinated 118 Christians and 1,203 Muslims, but only 105 Hindus. In the Hindu centre of Varanasi the surgeon almost lost the supply for want of patients. Shoolbred, Report on Vaccine Inoculation in Bengal 1804, 14–16. 78. Shoolbred, Report on Vaccine Inoculation in Bengal 1802–03, 18. 79. Shoolbred, Report on Vaccine Inoculation in Bengal 1804, 18–19, 22–23. 80. Shoolbred, Report on Vaccine Inoculation in Bengal 1802–03, 14. 81. Shoolbred, Report on Vaccine Inoculation in Bengal 1804, 16, 22–23. 82. Christie, Ravages in Ceylon by Small-pox, 69. 83. Banthia and Dyson, 'Smallpox and the Impact of Vaccination', 36–37. 84. Brimnes, 'Sympathising Heart', 200–02. 85. Arnold, Colonizing the Body, 121–33. 86. Shoolbred, Report on Vaccine Inoculation in Bengal 1804, 21, 24. 87. Shoolbred, Report on Vaccine Inoculation in Bengal 1802–03, 66–76, quotations at 66 and 67. See also Bayly, Empire and Information, 269–70. 88. Variolation was not prohibited by law, but suppressed by police action: Naraindas, 'Care, Welfare, and Treason', 68–69. 89. Shoolbred to Medical Board, July 1805 Shoolbred, J. 1805. Report on the State and Progress of Vaccine Inoculation in Bengal during the Year 1804, Calcutta: Honorable Company's Press. [Google Scholar], F/4/186/3906, 2–4; Shoolbred, Report on Vaccine Inoculation in Bengal 1804, 44–46. 90. Since no previous Sri Lankan king had contracted smallpox, it was regarded as an ill omen: Uragoda, A History of Medicine in Sri Lanka, 204. 91. Chancellor, 'A Picture of Health', 760-82, quotations at 775 and 776. 92. Shoolbred, Report on Vaccine Inoculation in Bengal 1804, 50, 66–67. 93. For some of these initiatives, see ibid., 27–29, 58–60, 63–65. 94. Wong and Lien-Teh, History of Chinese Medicine, 276–78. 95. Keir, Introduction of Cowpox, 3. 96. Shoolbred, Report on Vaccine Inoculation in Bengal 1802–03, 20–21. 97. Dr Mackenzie reported 607,895 vaccinations in the Presidency of Madras by September 1806, excluding vaccinations by Brahmins 'and other natives': Table of vaccinations, Madras, 1805, 'Smallpox', item 6, Jenneriana BF. The total in Ceylon was almost 55,000 by the end of 1806: Christie, Ravages in Ceylon by Small-pox, 90. The numbers vaccinated in Bombay and Bengal can be estimated at around 50,000 and 100,000 respectively. 98. In 1805 the Presidency of Bombay raised £2,000 as a gift to Jenner. In 1807 similar subscriptions in Madras and Calcutta raised over £1,000 and £4,000 respectively: Fisher, Edward Jenner, 183. 99. From Ceylon Dr Christie expressed astonishment at the opposition to vaccination in Britain: Christie, Ravages in Ceylon by Small-pox, i–ii. 100. Saunders, Jenner: The Cheltenham Years, 172–73. 101. Guha, Health and Population in South Asia, 39, 51. 102. Anderson, Extermination of Small-pox, 6–7. 103. Brimnes, 'Variolation, Vaccination and Popular Resistance', 216–17. 104. Christie, Ravages in Ceylon by Small-pox, 82–83. 105. Naraindas, 'Care, Welfare, and Treason', esp. 70–72. 106. Bhattacharya, Harrison and Worboys, Fractured States, 34–40. 107. Keir, Introduction of Cowpox, 109. 108. Wujastyk, 'Indian Claims for Vaccination', 154–55; Guha, Health and Population in South Asia, 140–55. 109. Ainslie, 'Observations Respecting the Small-pox', 52–73, quotation at 72. 110. Shoolbred, Report on Vaccine Inoculation in Bengal 1804, 23. 111. Dalton to Medical Board, 11 April 1805, P/255/53, 4096-7. A memorial by Swami Naik described this incident, along with an earlier assault on himself by inhabitants of the Black Town of Madras 'who were ignorant of the beneficial effects of the cow-pox': King, 'Introduction of Vaccination into India', 413-14. 112. Horsman to Medical Board, Madras, 22 March 1803, F/4/153/2613, 126–27. 113. Forbes, Oriental Memoirs, 422–23. 114. King, 'Introduction of Vaccination into India', 414. Some Brahmins, e.g. Alep Choby from Oude, were introducing vaccination beyond British lines as early as 1804: Wujastyk, 'Indian Claims for Vaccination', 137–38. 115. For popular opposition to vaccination in late nineteenth-century Britain, see Durbach, Bodily Matters, esp. ch. 2. 116. Dalton to Medical Board, Madras, 11 April 1805, P/255/53, 4096–97. 117. Banthia and Dyson, 'Smallpox and the Impact of Vaccination', 35. 118. Table of vaccinations, Madras, 1805, 'Smallpox', item 6, Jenneriana BF. 119. Banthia and Dyson, 'Smallpox and the Impact of Vaccination', 30. 120. Ibid., 676–78. 121. Ballantyne, 'Empire, Knowledge and Culture', 133. 122. On Britain's 'new imperial age', and the 'proconsular despotisms' of the early nineteenth century, see Bayly, Imperial Meridian, esp. chs 4, 5 and 7. 123. See Bhattacharya, Harrison and Worboys, Fractured States, esp. ch. 1.