[THE SIXTH CHOLERA PANDEMIC (1899-1923) / EMMIGRATION / THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE] Manuscript report prepared by the Italian Royal Consular Agent in Rodosto (Tekirdağ), detailing the region’s poor sanitary conditions and the arrival of emigrants from...

CONSUL GENERAL OF ITALY IN CONSTANTINOPLE & THE ROYAL CONSULAR AGENT IN RODOSTO.

Manuscript & Typescript, Rodosto & Constantinopoli, 3-9 October 1913.

COMPLETE TITLE: [THE SIXTH CHOLERA PANDEMIC (1899-1923) / EMMIGRATION / THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE] Manuscript report prepared by the Italian Royal Consular Agent in Rodosto (Tekirdağ), detailing the region’s poor sanitary conditions and the arrival of emigrants from the Balkans and Anatolia, who are believed to have introduced cholera into Rodosto on October 3, 1913.

A one-page typed letter with autograph marginal notes, and a two-page manuscript report in black ink. Both are written on bifolia papers with “Renage’s Mill” watermark (One is “Banknote Paper”, the other is “Extra Strong”). “Agenzia Consolare d’Italia, Rodosto” & “Consolato Generale d’Italia in Constantinopoli” letterheads. (27x21 cm). The letter is in Italian, report is in French. 1 p.; 2 p. Signed. Except for the horizontal centre-fold, in very clean condition. 

A letter written by the Italian Consul General in Constantinople to the Italian chargé d'affaires, accompanied by a historically significant report from the Consular Agent in Rodosto, provides valuable first-hand information about the outbreak of epidemic diseases such as cholera and typhus among humans, and anthrax and bubonic plague among animals in the Ottoman Empire in 1913. It also sheds light on the authorities’ failure to address these public health crises, while offering significant insights into the Muslim immigrants arriving in convoys to the region during the ongoing Balkan Wars.

This is an invaluable firsthand account of the Sixth Cholera Pandemic in the Ottoman Empire, “a time when the Empire’s foundations were shaken by the Balkan War, military defeats, territorial losses, the plight of refugees and immigrants, and the dreadful calamity of the cholera epidemic between 1911 and 1913, during which no reliable official records exist regarding the exact number of cholera cases and deaths”. (Unat).

The manuscript report opens by stating the number of direct death cases as rendered in the translation: "I believe it is my duty to inform you that on the 27th, a case of cholera, followed by death, was reported in the town. The day before yesterday, there were four other cases, two of them fatal; yesterday, four new ones, two of which were fatal; today, another case. So out of ten cases, there have been five deaths."

The letter goes on: “The other municipality requested a credit of 1000 piastres from Constantinople to take the measures required by the circumstances. Unfortunately, no reply has been given, and our local officials do not know to which authority they should turn…”

“Cholera is present in Kırklareli (Quarante Églises), Baba-Eski (Babaeski), à Vise (Vize), à Bounar-Hissar (Pınarhisar), à Luli Bourgaz (Lüleburgaz), à Ouzun Keupiru (Uzunköprü) and aound Krichan (Kırıkhan). In Tchorlou (Çorlu), typhus is wreaking havoc, and smallpox is present here. Our entire region is devastated by an epizootic outbreak: smallpox and foot-and-mouth disease among the sheep, anthrax and bubonic plague among the oxen and buffaloes.

Money and serum have been requested from the Ministry of Agriculture, but there has been no response. The chief veterinarian I spoke with assured me that it would be impossible to do anything until he has serum to treat the livestock, and that if the epidemic disease continues to spread like this, the livestock will be completely wiped out in our region.”

The Royal Consular Agent states that during and after the war between the Turks and Bulgarians, also known as the Battle of Kirkkilise, which was part of the Balkan Wars, Muslim immigrants who continually flocked to Kirklareli and the surrounding areas brought cholera and other epidemic diseases to the region.

“Regularly, there are convoys of migrants who had left their villages in the surrounding areas of Adrianople, Quarante Églises, Lüleburgaz, etc., before the Turco-Bulgarian War, arriving from Anatolia by steamships. They are the ones who brought us cholera and the epidemic disease.”

He ended his manuscript report by stating there is no way to convince the authorities to have them disembark elsewhere, outside the city, or to prevent the arrival of these immigrants, who are being directed utilizing forced requisitions to areas where cholera is spreading.

This report was presented to the Italian chargé d'affaires with this letter additionally as below:

“Health Bulletin,
I believe it is my duty to inform you that on the 27th...

In the course of this matter, I have the honour of forwarding to Your Excellency the attached report recently sent to me by the Royal Consular Agent in Rodosto, concerning the poor sanitary condition of that region, particularly regarding the disembarkation of emigrants from Anatolia who are believed to have introduced cholera into Rodosto. The aforementioned Royal Consular Agent complains that the local authorities are doing nothing to remedy this situation. Please accept, Mr. Chargé d’Affaires, the assurances of my highest consideration.

To the Chargé d’Affaires
Royal Embassy, Therapia.”

The document under review:

During the First Balkan War, the Ottoman Empire lost most of its European territories. The war triggered a massive wave of Muslim migration (muhajir) into the remaining Ottoman lands, particularly Eastern Thrace and Anatolia. These movements were chaotic and poorly managed, leading to overcrowded camps, poor hygiene, and ideal conditions for epidemic disease.

The correspondence and reports are an example of how local consular agents reported public health crises, population movements, and administrative failures to higher diplomatic authorities, including the Regia Ambasciata in Constantinople (Terapia). This was critical for protecting Italian shipping and trade from disease outbreaks and alerting Italian authorities to potential geopolitical risks.

This manuscript is an important document confirming the spread of cholera, one of the deadliest infectious diseases of the era, in the region of Rodosto (modern-day Tekirdağ). It also alludes to the worsening sanitary conditions, likely exacerbated by the war and displacement, and possibly by other epidemic diseases like typhus and smallpox, which were frequently linked to crowded, unsanitary refugee conditions. The letter explicitly connects the arrival of Anatolian migrants (Muslim refugees or internally displaced persons) to the introduction of cholera in European Thrace. This reflects how migration routes, especially forced or emergency migrations, played a key role in the diffusion of diseases, a theme repeatedly observed during the 19th and early 20th centuries.

The Sixth Cholera Pandemic (1899-1923)

The sixth cholera pandemic, caused by the classical strain of Vibrio cholerae O1, had relatively little impact on Western Europe thanks to advancements in sanitation and public health infrastructure. However, major Russian cities and the Ottoman Empire experienced devastating outbreaks, with high mortality rates. Between 1900 and 1925, more than 500,000 people in Russia died from cholera, a period marked by extreme social upheaval due to revolution and warfare.

From the 19th century until 1930, cholera broke out 27 times during the Hajj pilgrimage in Mecca. The sixth pandemic alone claimed over 800,000 lives in India. In the Philippines, the 1902-1904 cholera epidemic resulted in 200,000 deaths, including that of Apolinario Mabini, the revolutionary leader and the country’s first prime minister. A 1905 government report noted the reappearance of Asiatic cholera, describing it as significant and detailing the imposition of "very strict marine quarantine" measures to control its spread across the archipelago.

The last major outbreak of cholera in the United States occurred in 1910-1911, when the steamship Moltke brought infected passengers from Naples to New York City. Vigilant public health authorities quarantined the sick on Swinburne Island, but eleven people, including a healthcare worker, ultimately died.

In 1913, during the Second Balkan War, the Romanian Army’s invasion of Bulgaria was accompanied by a cholera outbreak that caused 1,600 deaths among its troops.

Throughout the pandemic, cholera’s transmission, often linked to the movement of immigrants and travelers, led to widespread stigmatization of marginalized communities. In Italy, Jews and Romani were blamed; in British India, many Anglo-Indians accused Hindu pilgrims; and in the United States, Filipino immigrants were often scapegoated for the disease’s spread.