Brooklyn Historical Society 11/29/11

The excerpts we read from Gabriel Furman’s notes dealt with a worldwide Cholera outbreak. In Brooklyn, the disease was rampant, killing 1/75th of Brooklyn (2000 people) in about 15 days. For a long time, no one knew how to cure the disease and the deaths continued. However according to Furman’s notes a very successful cure was something called the “Calcutta Cure” and as it’s name implies it came from Calcutta. Our group thought that since Calcutta is a hot and humid place they would be more adept at dealing with diseases like Cholera. The cure consisted of water, cinnamon, Laudanum and Lavender. The cure was so potent that only a few drops need be applied for immediate relief. One thing I found odd was how Furman was referring to Moscow, saying how the disease killed many people there. That made me wonder how news could travel so quickly at that time, the fastest method being trans-Atlantic.