The Influenza Pandemic of 1918

The influenza pandemic of 1918 had significant world wide consequences. There were various responses to the pandemic, including efforts to assist in helping prevent the spread of the disease, efforts to isolate from the pandemic, and religious responses to the pandemic.

There were various efforts to assist those affected by the influenza pandemic. In a letter, an American doctor describes how “the normal number of doctors [where he is stationed] is about 25 and has been increased to over 250” (Doc 1). Doctors contributed to these efforts of assisting those affected by the pandemic by working a great deal more than they typically did.

Also, a Native American volunteer worker describes how she “helps nurse soldiers sick with the Influenza…intending [to stay] much longer than she did, but the work was entirely too hard for [her]” (Doc 2). In addition to doctors, ordinary people volunteered to help combat the impact of the pandemic. Lastly, a woman from New Zealand describes how her mother “would come home and would boil up and make the most beautiful vegetable and meat soups, and then [she] would take them in thermos flasks to people who were too ill to warm their own food” (Doc 7).

Similar to the Native American, this woman in New Zealand participates in the efforts of reducing the effects of the pandemic by cooking for others.

In addition to assisting others, some attempted to isolate themselves from the pandemic in hopes of reducing the chances of infection. A British colonial report of Sierra Leone describes how those who “became sick, were simply turned out on to the streets…a number of patients…were dying from insufficient care…because the patients had been deserted” (Doc 3).

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In Sierra Leone, an increasing number of patients began dying due to a lack of care after being deserted by others. An editorial from a Brazilian newspaper describes the locals’ efforts to reduce the number of ships entering their harbors, especially ships originating “from questionable ports…without any sanitary prevention measures” (Doc 6).

These efforts to gradually isolate Brazil from the rest of the world in order to reduce the chances of infection spreading coincide with several other isolation efforts around the world. Lastly, an account given by an American resident living in British Samoa describes how Governor John Poyer was able to keep the influenza “out of American Samoa…[by] keeping out the boat from British Samoa” (Doc 9). American Samoa preserved the general welfare throughout the region by limiting the amount of contact they had with the rest of the infected world.

Also, some turned to religion as a response to the influenza pandemic. A sanitary commissioner’s report from British India describes how some people “were averse in the beginning to resorting to a medical treatment under a superstitious belief that the epidemic was a visitation of the Hindu Goddess Amman” (Doc 4). The unsettling effects of the influenza pandemic provoked various responses, with the response in India being the assumption that it was an act of divinity on behalf of their gods. In an editorial published in Boston, the author believes that churches should be comforting others and “filling the minds of the people with peace” (Doc 5).

With the foundation of Christianity being based upon the notion that God is omnipotent, the author describes how churches should be acting among those affected by the pandemic. A British soldier serving in East Africa describe show craftsmen “made coffins by lamplight and wondered if they themselves would occupy them…that God [was] weary of war [and] had determined to wipe humanity off the world by means of a plague more fatal than man’s destructiveness” (Doc 8).

Several point of views affect the descriptions in each document. The report issued by the British colonial government is influenced by the Eurocentric thinking of the time. The report portrays the natives as lacking compassionate for the sick, enforcing the notion of European superiority. Also, the Sanitary Commissioner’s report given in British India is affected by the Christian dominance in Britain at the time. The report notes that natives turn to “superstitious” beliefs, rather than simply describing the religious practice.

Lastly, the statement given by the British soldier, C.T. Stoneham, is influenced by the soldier’s participation in World War One. Stoneham is a part of the ‘Lost Generation’, affecting his outlook on war and ultimately leading him to describe an angry God that is tired of war.

In addition to the documents provided, several other documents would be helpful. A statement given by someone who survive the influenza would provide insight as to how the victim was able to survive and what assisted him in doing so. A chart detailing the ethnicity of all the volunteer workers assisting those affected by the disease would provide details of which cultures emphasize helping others and which cultures emphasize isolation.

People across the world turned to several responses to the pandemic, including efforts to assist in helping prevent the spread of the disease, efforts to isolate from the pandemic, and religious beliefs.