Dread the Grim Reaper : early warning strategies as a means of plague prevention : Hospitaller Malta’s fight against contagion

Abstract

Plague brought social disruption and physical devastation on a large scale in pre-industrial society. This study strives to give an overview of the occurrence and socio-economic impact on society of the pestilence in the Mediterranean world and beyond from Antiquity up to the nineteenth century, with considerations on recent historiographical trends regarding the analysis of the outbreak and spread of the phenomenon based on a multi-disciplinary approach. Among the aspects discussed in the paper are the biological origins of the disease, how it spread across territories along trading and maritime routes, the different religious approaches to the epidemic, and, with special reference to Hospitaller Malta, the collaborative efforts between maritime centres for mutual alarm regarding possible contagion