The demographic History of Smallpox in the Netherlands (18th-19th centuries)

This paper looks at the demographic history of smallpox in the Netherlands in the 18th and 19th centuries. It examines the claim that smallpox vaccination was a prime-mover in the European mortality decline starting about 1800 (Razzell 1977; Mercer 1990; Aaby 1991; Sköld 1996). In the Netherlands smallpox mortality dropped in an unprecedented way from the early 19th century. Largescale vaccination campaigns, launched by Louis- Napoleon, King of Holland, and continued by the new-founded Kingdom of the Netherlands, are considered responsible for the decline of smallpox. At the same time a signif... Mehr ...