Human consequences
The streets fill with corpses; the Chevalier Roze has those on the Tourette esplanade cleared with the help of galley convicts.
Home › All disasters › Great Plague of Marseille
PandemicGreat Plague of Marseille
120,000Deaths
Not quantifiedDisplaced / homeless
Not quantifiedEstimated cost
- About 30,000 to 50,000 deaths in Marseille, nearly half its inhabitants, and up to 120,000 across Provence.
The ship Grand-Saint-Antoine, back from the Levant with a contaminated cargo of silk, arrives in Marseille on 25 May 1720. A quarantine cut short under pressure from merchants lets the plague into the city.
Consequences
Environmental consequences
A dry-stone “plague wall” is built across the Vaucluse mountains to protect the Comtat Venaissin.
Economic consequences
The port, which lives off trade with the Levant, is paralysed for almost two years.
Political consequences
It is the last great plague epidemic in France, and leads to stricter quarantine and health controls in ports.
Spread
- The Grand-Saint-Antoine, sailing from Sidon · May 1720
- Aix-en-Provence · 1720
- Arles · 1721
- Toulon · 1721
Further reading
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In the rankings : The worst disasters in France No. 1The deadliest pandemics in history No. 6
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