Epidemic Containment Policy in Portugal: The 1885 Cordon Sanitaire

Abstract

The primary aim of this study is to further our understanding of the measures taken to contain epidemics in Portugal during the nineteenth century. The first cordons sanitaires along the country’s land border were organized in 1800 and 1804 to prevent the spread of plague and yellow fever from Spain. Later, as also happened in countries with better public health regulations, liberal governments in Portugal did not shy away from implementing the quarantine procedures they had inherited from previous absolutist governments. This is clearly seen in the establishment of probably the last land-based cordon sanitaire to protect the country, which was set up in 1885 to guard against the cholera that was devastating Spain.