The Historical Roots of Inequality in Death and Disease in West-European Port Cities, 1850-1950

January 2025 – September 2028

Social inequalities in health pose persistent and pressing societal challenges. These inequalities that plague our present-day lives have deep historical roots. Currently, the understanding of the causes of these historical health inequalities is hindered by a reliance on inadequate sources, a solely national focus, and an almost exclusive emphasis on mortality.

This project adopts a comparative mixed methods approach to address these challenges, studying three major Western European port cities Amsterdam, Copenhagen, and Glasgow (1850-1950). Recently digitised cause-of-death and patient records are available for all three cities, which allows the study of both mortality and morbidity using unique individual-level information. Moreover, these cities were characterised by a high burden of disease, high rates of population turnover, vast economic change, and public health advances during the period to be studied. In many ways, these case studies embody developments occurring throughout Western Europe in this era of modernisation. Yet, each city differs in the specific manner in which health transition-related developments unfolded. Comparing Amsterdam, Copenhagen, and Glasgow therefore offers the opportunity for a contextualised exploration of differences within similar societies, making it possible to assess whether, how and why specific determinants contributed to cause-specific health disparities.

To advance the comparative analysis, this project focuses not only on the determinants for several general disease categories, but also four specific disease are examined in depth: tuberculosis, measles, smallpox, and cholera. These specific diseases provide detailed clues to which determinants cause health inequalities. This is done utilising advanced quantitative methods, alongside a qualitative analysis of medical reports, governmental reports, newspapers, medical dossiers, and dictionaries. This project not only deepens our understanding of the past, but will also shape our perception of health inequalities today.

Clich here to read the research proposal of the Veni-proposal.