19.YÜZYILDA KASTAMONU VİLAYETİNDE FRENGİ HASTALIĞIYLA MÜCADELE
THE FIGHT AGAINST SYPHILIS IN KASTAMONU IN THE 19TH CENTURY

Summary/Abstract: It is unavoidable to say that for the Ottoman Empire, the 19th century was a period of distress regarding not only military and political aspects, but also in terms of health. As it is known, from the perspective of the European nations, the Ottoman Empire was depicted as “the sick man” of Europe whose inheritance had been desired to be shared among such nations since the first quarter of the century. Unfortunately, the Ottoman Empire faced serious problems related with the health of the society besides political struggles. When the State got rid of contagious diseases such as chicken pox which it had tried to overcome for centuries, it came across with diseases such as cholera, tuberculosis, syphilis and malaria which appeared in the form of great epidemics in the 19th century. Although the negative effects of these diesases, such as the decrease of the population, were obvious, their negative effects were perhaps the most disturbing on people who were at the age of conscription. They were considered to be of great importance among the general population in terms of supporting the state. However, until that time in the Ottoman Empire, health services had been carried out by foundations and since epidemics were considered the wrath of God, the fight against diseases were prevented because this was regarded as a revolt against God. Therefore, this situation caused the Empire to carry out reforms in order to change the general attitude towards diseases and to pass the health system to the control of the State. In this framework, this article investigates the fight against syphilis which was an epidemic that spread in the whole Kastamonu Province in the second half of the 19th century. In this respect, it strikes our attention that particularly at this time hospitals were built, travelling health delegates were given duty, and constitutions as well as regulations were implemented.

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