Pox and parents: educational choices in the light of smallpox epidemics in seventeenth-century England

Abstract

ABSTRACT This study offers a microhistory by exploring the impact regular smallpox outbreaks had on the lives of gentry families in seventeenth-century England. It particularly focuses on the question as in what way smallpox influenced upbringing and educational decisions and draws on a collection of personal letters of the Clarke family (1667–1710), mainly correspondence between Mary (neé Jepp) (approx. 1655/7–1705) and her husband Edward Clarke I of Chipley (1650–1710), Somerset, and their children. Personal letters contain various information about infectious diseases, such as symptoms, care, and medical treatment. It is argued that the constant threat of epidemics of smallpox influenced the upbringing and education of children with regard to personnel, for example tutors or governesses, places, schools, and institutions, and the duration of studies.