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Abstract

This dissertation examines how the Great Plague of 1665 impacted the daily lives of the people of London. By utilising a material history approach, this dissertation focuses on the ways in which the plague impacted the normative use of space. The benefit of taking this approach is to reveal how early modern social norms and expectations, which had a huge influence on the way different spaces were used, were altered by the epidemic. The recent ‘spatial turn’ in historiographical methods has allowed for a more comprehensive understanding of what consisted of a ‘normal’ day thus helps to reveal the stresses that the plague created.
Through the analysis of the Plague Orders of 1665, the official involvement of the state with public and private spaces will reflect how contemporaries reacted to the authorities involving themselves in their everyday lives. Contemporary reactions will then be explored through the use of a printed pamphlet and extracts from Samuel Pepys’ diaries. Through a focus on wealth and gender, this dissertation will argue that the plague placed multiple tensions on the relationship between the state and its citizens, the rich and the poor, and attitudes towards women.
Whilst this dissertation is not a comparison to our own modern experience with the COVID19 pandemic, the similarities with the 1665 epidemic are unequivocal. The quarantine of houses, closing of public facilities and the policies working in favour of the rich, are just some of the features of the 1665 plague that many of us can relate to. It is this modern phenomenon that has inspired the focus of this dissertation.

Course: History - BA (Hons) - C1087

Date Deposited: 2022-12-08

URI/permalink: https://library.port.ac.uk/dissert/dis14079.html