Periodic Reporting for period 1 - ISLand (Isolation and Segregation Landscape. Archaeology of quarantine in the Indian Ocean World)
Période du rapport: 2021-01-01 au 2022-12-31
The proposed research presents an experimental and completely novel investigation within historical archaeology, applied to isolated contexts. The project focuses on the establishment of a quarantine system in the Indian Ocean, promoted by colonial empires to contrast the emerging infectious diseases (smallpox, cholera, and malaria) during the nineteenth century. The researcher collected and analysed archival sources and archaeological data from selected sites. A test case in Mauritius, the Flat Island quarantine station, has been investigated through the most innovative methods that target landscape and standing archaeology, analysing a historical social setting and natural environment that were radically altered due to the implementation of health management. The reconstruction of the spatial organization and the built landscape of this institution assess the gap between the benefits claimed by European colonizers and the actual effects on immigrant health conditions through the promotion of public health practices.
The main objective of ISLand is to provide a new way of thinking about human interactions within colonial empires and bring colonial studies into dialogue with medical history and the emerging concept of healthscaping. It seeks to do so by studying quarantine facilities in the Indian Ocean World during the long nineteenth century, a crucial period for the history of European empires in that region and a flashpoint for the conceptualization of modern public health. Quarantine, traditionally viewed as merely a mechanism for the control of disease, has been analysed as the outward material response to important changes taking place socially, ecologically, and politically at the time, particularly in relation to the diaspora of thousands of indentured workers. The researcher aims that her project may have relevance for rethinking current European approaches to the migration crisis. Moreover, considering the recent public health crisis, the project highlights the role of anthropological and historical perspectives in informing approaches to effective quarantine policies and infrastructure, reinforcing social equity. To achieve the overall objective, the research was divided into three specific objectives related to different methodological fields: historical sources about the quarantine system in the IOW, archaeological evidence, integration and analysis of data to explore the impacts of quarantine.
The main objective of ISLand is to provide a new way of thinking about human interactions within colonial empires and bring colonial studies into dialogue with medical history and the emerging concept of healthscaping. It seeks to do so by studying quarantine facilities in the Indian Ocean World during the long nineteenth century, a crucial period for the history of European empires in that region and a flashpoint for the conceptualization of modern public health. Quarantine, traditionally viewed as merely a mechanism for the control of disease, has been analysed as the outward material response to important changes taking place socially, ecologically, and politically at the time, particularly in relation to the diaspora of thousands of indentured workers. The researcher aims that her project may have relevance for rethinking current European approaches to the migration crisis. Moreover, considering the recent public health crisis, the project highlights the role of anthropological and historical perspectives in informing approaches to effective quarantine policies and infrastructure, reinforcing social equity. To achieve the overall objective, the research was divided into three specific objectives related to different methodological fields: historical sources about the quarantine system in the IOW, archaeological evidence, integration and analysis of data to explore the impacts of quarantine.
Following the Career Development Plan prepared at the beginning of the project, activities were modulated in synergy with the two main research groups at the University of Amsterdam and Stanford University, the institutions directly involved as the beneficiary and host institutions. The first two years were devoted to training activities, fieldwork, and dissemination of research. The training included research skills and techniques, academic teaching, research management skills, and speaking and writing skills. Formal training activities were enriched by fruitful participation in seminars, lectures, webinars, and workshops organized by both institutions and other research institutions and scientific societies.
Initially, a census of quarantine stations and lazarettos used around the world during the nineteenth was compiled with basic information on the chronology, relationship to diseases or epidemics, changes in use, state of preservation, and related historical and archaeological studies. Second, I created a detailed database for the case study, collecting also archival and unpublished data from the local archives in Mauritius. Historical data on demographic trends, the occurrence of epidemic diseases, and the mobility of indentured laborers were collected and organized in tables. Special attention was then paid to archival sources regarding the establishment of a cholera quarantine station on Flat Island, where the fieldwork was planned and conducted. In preparation for the fieldwork a database was created in FileMaker and a GIS platform was prepared with QGis by adding all the data collected through remote sensing methods. After the fieldwork and archaeological investigation the platform was implemented with the location of all features related to the historical use and transformation of the island. The intermediary and final reports of each archaeological campaign were prepared and shared with local authorities in Mauritius. The reports were the basis for the preparation of scientific articles published so far. Participation in conferences, workshops, and other public activities allowed me to correct and improve the data analysis, besides disseminating the results of my research to the general public and academic audience.
Initially, a census of quarantine stations and lazarettos used around the world during the nineteenth was compiled with basic information on the chronology, relationship to diseases or epidemics, changes in use, state of preservation, and related historical and archaeological studies. Second, I created a detailed database for the case study, collecting also archival and unpublished data from the local archives in Mauritius. Historical data on demographic trends, the occurrence of epidemic diseases, and the mobility of indentured laborers were collected and organized in tables. Special attention was then paid to archival sources regarding the establishment of a cholera quarantine station on Flat Island, where the fieldwork was planned and conducted. In preparation for the fieldwork a database was created in FileMaker and a GIS platform was prepared with QGis by adding all the data collected through remote sensing methods. After the fieldwork and archaeological investigation the platform was implemented with the location of all features related to the historical use and transformation of the island. The intermediary and final reports of each archaeological campaign were prepared and shared with local authorities in Mauritius. The reports were the basis for the preparation of scientific articles published so far. Participation in conferences, workshops, and other public activities allowed me to correct and improve the data analysis, besides disseminating the results of my research to the general public and academic audience.
The Indian Ocean offers the ideal location for comparative studies of colonial systems, where burgeoning archaeology has revealed a number of key sites alongside large repositories of historical sources. Quarantine stations established by the British Empire serve as the object of analysis in the ISLand project. These facilities capture how British colonial policies created and managed new health practices and health subjects, in connection with the escalated intercontinental transportation of indentured laborers. In the ISLand project, for the first time, historical archaeology was used as the primary lens to analyze health management in the region, tracing the development of new forms of regional healthscaping. Building on similar research in the Mediterranean area, the Atlantic colonies, and Pacific Australia, the project is part of a long and deep-rooted tradition of historical studies devoted to medical and confinement institutions. However, the historical approach has been intertwined from the beginning with the material outcome of medical and social practices related to the introduction and implementation of quarantine stations. These sites are seen not only as designed and crystallized institutions to improve public health, but also as a dynamic material response to specific ecological, social, and political processes.
The expected results included three areas:
-Scientific knowledge: publication of data collection and analysis in international journals increases knowledge of the historical archaeology and medical history of the IOW.
-Cultural heritage: the project fostered knowledge of Mauritian cultural heritage. Several tools have been produced aiming at the preservation, restoration, and promotion of Flat Island, an exceptional archaeological site.
-Public historical archaeology: the creation of a freely accessible StoryMap is a tool for disseminating scientific knowledge to the general public.
In our era of globalization, ISLand’s deliverables may have an impact on the emerging field of global health, particularly with regard to current European approaches to the migration crisis, where the threat of disease has been ignited as a potentially debilitating consequence of immigration from extra-European countries. Quarantine stations represent key sites for studying 'Europe's cultural and social diversity and of its past', one of the Societal Challenges stated in the Horizon 2020 work program. The historical archaeology of quarantine sites expands the concept of diversity through a historically informed concept of health, and reflects on how that diversity should be managed in order to 'inform the reflection about present problems and help to find solutions for shaping Europe's future'.
The expected results included three areas:
-Scientific knowledge: publication of data collection and analysis in international journals increases knowledge of the historical archaeology and medical history of the IOW.
-Cultural heritage: the project fostered knowledge of Mauritian cultural heritage. Several tools have been produced aiming at the preservation, restoration, and promotion of Flat Island, an exceptional archaeological site.
-Public historical archaeology: the creation of a freely accessible StoryMap is a tool for disseminating scientific knowledge to the general public.
In our era of globalization, ISLand’s deliverables may have an impact on the emerging field of global health, particularly with regard to current European approaches to the migration crisis, where the threat of disease has been ignited as a potentially debilitating consequence of immigration from extra-European countries. Quarantine stations represent key sites for studying 'Europe's cultural and social diversity and of its past', one of the Societal Challenges stated in the Horizon 2020 work program. The historical archaeology of quarantine sites expands the concept of diversity through a historically informed concept of health, and reflects on how that diversity should be managed in order to 'inform the reflection about present problems and help to find solutions for shaping Europe's future'.