Developments in public health and welfare - EduqasImprovements to public health from the 15th to the 18th centuries

From the 15th to the 18th centuries, there were some attempts to improve public health.

The 15th and 16th centuries

Henry VII passed a law in 1488 stating that all slaughterhouses should be placed outside town walls. This was partly because of complaints about the smell they were causing in London but also because of the fear that the smell would spread disease. His son, Henry VIII, passed the 1531 Statute of Sewers, which gave towns the power to raise taxes to build sewers. However, few towns did.

The 17th century

In 1647 the town council in Aberdeen began a process of pest control by poisoning rats and mice. People were beginning to understand that dirt causes disease but without fully understanding why.

However, the Great Plague of 1665 highlighted the fact that public health had not really improved. Authorities tried to deal with the plague by putting houses under quarantine and posting watchmen to stop people leaving them. However, these were essentially attempts to stop the plague spreading, rather than to prevent it arising in the first place.

Many historians believe that the Great Fire of London in 1666 actually did more to improve public health. In order to reduce the risk of other fires in future, it was decided to rebuild the city by making streets wider, with houses built of stone and brick, and with tile or slate roofs. This made London a healthier place in which to live.

The 18th century

By the 18th century the country was slowly becoming wealthier. Brick houses, which were warmer and healthier, began to replace wooden houses. In agriculture, the introduction of enclosure opened the way for more efficient farming. Food production increased and this led to some improvement in people’s diets.

However, other factors meant that attempts to improve public health met with limited success:

• It was difficult to raise money to build sewers or employ people to remove rubbish. As in previous centuries, what little money monarchs raised in taxes was likely to be spent on the armed forces or royal palaces, rather than improving public health.
• Towns were growing so rapidly that it was impossible to keep them clean.
• Slaughterhouses, eg Smithfield in London, continued to operate inside town boundaries. For example, in 1750, around 500,000 sheep and 70,000 cattle were herded into Smithfield, creating huge amounts of manure and other waste.
• It was still believed that disease was caused by miasma.