The Moral Politics of Cholera in Postemancipation Jamaica

Abstract

This article situates the 1850–1851 cholera epidemic in the British colony of Jamaica within prevalent debates about the moral condition of Jamaicans of African descent, the economic crises of the 1840s and 1850s, and ultimately the effectiveness of emancipation. Through close readings of Scottish physician Gavin Milroy's reports, juxtaposed against correspondence between colonial officials and local public health authorities, this article argues that the cholera epidemic not only provided another venue to air critiques of Jamaica's transition from slavery to freedom, but also revealed as essential one particular solution – sanitary reform – to two major issues: cholera and the island's economic decline.