CORRUPTER OF BODIES? An analysis of the Verhandelingen of the Batavian Society of Arts and Sciences (1778- 1794) on managing the health of the citizens of Batavia Valentine Delrue 6573177 Master’s Thesis MSc History and Philosophy of Science 2018-2019 Supervisor: Prof. dr. Frank Huisman Second examiner: Prof. dr. Bert Theunissen Figure 1 View of the island and the city of Batavia. ca. 1780 [1754], copperplate, 25 x 39 cm. Imagebase, Universiteitsbibliotheek Vrije Universiteit, http://imagebase.ubvu.vu.nl, accessed 17.04.2019. | 2 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS On average, ships of the Dutch East India Company took eight months to reach Batavia. My five- month journey has been shorter but filled with new experiences and hurdles nonetheless. I wish to express my gratitude for all the help I have received on my journey. First of all, I would like to thank Prof. dr. Frank Huisman for embarking on this ship that sailed out unexpectedly early. I am also very grateful for Prof. dr. Bert Theunissen's attentive guidance all along the way. In addition, a thank you goes to Prof. dr. Vanden Broecke for introducing me to the Jacobus Bontius, and to Prof. dr. Hans Pols and dr. Sebastiaan Broere for their advice in the beginning. Thank you to the department and my class of the MSc History and Philosophy of Science for your never-ending interesting and humouristic conversations as well as your encouragement. Thank you to Ronald in particular for helping me by taking photographs in the archives in The Hague and to Martijn for his insightful remarks. Additionally, thank you to my friends back in Belgium, Lynn and Dennis, for proofreading. My sincere thanks also goes to my boyfriend Niels for not only lending more than a helping hand with the practical aspects but also for being a soundboard both intellectually and emotionally. Lastly, thank you to my parents, Nathalie and Stéphan, my sister Daphné, and my grandparents Agnes and Roger, for being caring stops along the way and above all, for helping me grow into the person I am today: a young woman who is on the verge of arriving at her destination of becoming a historian. For that, I am deeply grateful. | 3 TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgments .......................................................................................................................................................... 3 Table of Contents ............................................................................................................................................................ 4 List of Figures ................................................................................................................................................................... 5 Introduction ...................................................................................................................................................................... 6 Part I: Managing the environment ....................................................................................................... 16 Chapter 1. From Hippocrates to Environmental Medicine in the Batavian Society ......................... 18 1.1 The history of environmental thinking in medicine ...................................................................... 18 1.2 An intellectual society in Batavia: a means of control through knowledge? ....................... 23 Chapter 2. Air and water far and wide ................................................................................................................ 28 2.1 Taking in the surroundings ...................................................................................................................... 28 2.2 At the foot of the mountain: deviating the rivers ........................................................................... 30 2.3 A Sisyphean task? The marshes near the sea ................................................................................... 32 2.4 Redirecting the focus: other water-related solutions ................................................................... 37 2.5 Going up: different emanations causing putrid air ........................................................................ 40 2.6 The familiar habitation in the foreign habitat .................................................................................. 43 Chapter 3. The legacy of the non-naturals ......................................................................................................... 49 3.1 A myriad of food to discover ................................................................................................................... 49 3.2 The settler's optimistic regimen ............................................................................................................ 54 Part II: Inoculation and environment ................................................................................................. 60 Chapter 4. The historical background of inoculation .................................................................................... 63 4.1 The whereabouts of smallpox ................................................................................................................. 63 4.2 How inoculation travelled ........................................................................................................................ 64 4.3 Cheating death? Different practices of inoculating ........................................................................ 66 Chapter 5. How to prove success? numbers and examples ........................................................................ 69 5.1 The big numbers ........................................................................................................................................... 69 5.2 The making of a standard course for inoculation ........................................................................... 74 5.3 Striking examples stronger than numbers ........................................................................................ 78 Chapter 6. Inoculation: one size fits all? ............................................................................................................. 82 6.1 Three theories downplay environmental influences .................................................................... 82 6.2 Toward a standardized regimen............................................................................................................ 87 Conclusion ....................................................................................................................................................................... 92 Bibliography ................................................................................................................................................................... 94 | 4 LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1 View of the island and the city of Batavia. ca. 1780 [1754], copperplate, 25 x 39 cm. Imagebase, Universiteitsbibliotheek Vrije Universiteit, http://imagebase.ubvu.vu.nl, accessed 17.04.2019. ........................................................................................................................................................................ 2 Figure 2 Jan Brandes, The Blue mountain and the city of Batavia. 1788, water-colour painting over drawing, 195 x 155 mm. Rijksstudio, Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, https://www.rijksmuseum.nl, accessed 25.11.2019. ................................................................................... 33 Figure 3 Detail from Jan Brandes, Living room with son Jantje and slave Flora. 1784, water- colour painting over drawing, 195 x 155 mm. Rijksstudio, Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, https://www.rijksmuseum.nl, accessed 25.11.2019. ................................................................................... 44 Figure 4 Jan Brandes, Tea visit in European house. 1779-1785, water-colour painting over drawing, 155 x 195 mm. Rijksstudio, Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, https://www.rijksmuseum.nl, accessed 25.11.2019. .................................................................................................................................................. 44 Figure 5 Jan Brandes, Gallery with son Jantje and slave Bietja. 1784, water-colour painting over drawing, 195 x 155 mm. Rijksstudio, Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, https://www.rijksmuseum.nl, accessed 25.11.2019. .................................................................................................................................................. 45 Figure 6 Jan Brandes, Pinang tree near estate. 1779-1785, water-colour painting over drawing, 195 x 155 mm. Rijksstudio, Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, https://www.rijksmuseum.nl, accessed 25.11.2019. ..................................................................................................................................................................... 48 | 5 INTRODUCTION BATAVIA! BATAVIA! wacht U van murmureering. Zyt veel eer verwonderd, dat er niet meer dan één, door Uwe rotkoortzen, en de menigvuldige andere ziektens van Uwen besmettende dampkring zijn weggerukt.1 Van Hogendorp, 1780 Josua van Iperen (1726-1780) was a successful doctor in Batavia, the headquarters of the Dutch East India Company in Asia.2 Until suddenly, he died. In the speech written in his honour, his death was on the influence of the harmful atmosphere. At first, it had seemed that van Iperen was adjusting, even thriving, but in the end, a fever had gained the upper hand over his body.3 During the early modern period, these fears about the dangerous effects