It is interesting that even with very little data available on Argao’s medical picture during the Spanish period we can still get a very clear idea of what diseases and infirmities where abundant in the 1800s and what the causes of death were.
So far, only two documents have been found that lists extensively the illnesses of Argawanons, and this is in 1855 and 1883. This was when a long list of exemptions for the servicio personal or the forced labor was made which detailed the names of those who were above sixty years old and those with infirmities and/or diseases.
Another good source for looking up diseases in Spanish Argao is the church records of the town. The records of the St. Michael Parish oversimplify the cause of death from 1842 to 1882, where deaths were simply classified as “natural” (muerte natural) and “violent” (muerte violenta). Only after 1882 did the friars decide to try as much as possible to identify the specific cause of death. This is frustrating because there is 40 years’ worth of causes of death that could have been glimpsed if the earlier years were more specific.
As already mentioned, deaths in Argao were described only as either natural or violent in the early days. Towards the end of Spanish rule, natural causes of death were individually identified, and here we see a pattern of deaths in the town.
Aside from the cholera epidemics of the late 1860s-early 1870s, mid 1890s, and 1902-1903, which struck not just Argao but many parts of southern Cebu, common ailments and diseases that caused deaths in town were: fever, smallpox, and inflammation, which afflicted and killed most children under 12, although some adults, but not very many, also died of any of the aforementioned three illnesses; and tuberculosis, dropsy (edema), and dysentery for most adults to older members of the community. Adults, especially those above 60, also died due to hetica, pasmo, and mal viento, old Spanish colonial terms referring to, respectively, “sickness caused by overeating or not wearing a waistband which caused the belly to swell, sickness after exposure to cold water, and sickness after exposure to draft.”
Other causes of deaths, though uncommon, were hemorrhaging, scabies, colic, uterus-related deaths, mouth sores, ulcer, heatstroke, and whooping cough.
The exemption list also identifies at least 42 illnesses and infirmities, some with only one person having it, while others having as many as a hundred.
So far, only two documents have been found that lists extensively the illnesses of Argawanons, and this is in 1855 and 1883. This was when a long list of exemptions for the servicio personal or the forced labor was made which detailed the names of those who were above sixty years old and those with infirmities and/or diseases.
Another good source for looking up diseases in Spanish Argao is the church records of the town. The records of the St. Michael Parish oversimplify the cause of death from 1842 to 1882, where deaths were simply classified as “natural” (muerte natural) and “violent” (muerte violenta). Only after 1882 did the friars decide to try as much as possible to identify the specific cause of death. This is frustrating because there is 40 years’ worth of causes of death that could have been glimpsed if the earlier years were more specific.
As already mentioned, deaths in Argao were described only as either natural or violent in the early days. Towards the end of Spanish rule, natural causes of death were individually identified, and here we see a pattern of deaths in the town.
Aside from the cholera epidemics of the late 1860s-early 1870s, mid 1890s, and 1902-1903, which struck not just Argao but many parts of southern Cebu, common ailments and diseases that caused deaths in town were: fever, smallpox, and inflammation, which afflicted and killed most children under 12, although some adults, but not very many, also died of any of the aforementioned three illnesses; and tuberculosis, dropsy (edema), and dysentery for most adults to older members of the community. Adults, especially those above 60, also died due to hetica, pasmo, and mal viento, old Spanish colonial terms referring to, respectively, “sickness caused by overeating or not wearing a waistband which caused the belly to swell, sickness after exposure to cold water, and sickness after exposure to draft.”
Other causes of deaths, though uncommon, were hemorrhaging, scabies, colic, uterus-related deaths, mouth sores, ulcer, heatstroke, and whooping cough.
The exemption list also identifies at least 42 illnesses and infirmities, some with only one person having it, while others having as many as a hundred.
What is very interesting to note in these illnesses is that many people in Argao were identified as being loco or demente, which would translate literally as being crazy or demented. More than 100 people are identified under these two terms, and one wonders whether there really were that many crazy people in the pueblo, if the word loco did not necessarily mean crazy, or if the Gobernadorcillo at that time, Don Roman Quintanar, simply made up these afflictions to excuse his people from forced labor. But if he simply made up this excuse, why did a Mediquillo, or a quack doctor (or a trained doctor’s assistant, sort of like a nurse, according to historian Mike Cullinane) certify to the veracity of the listed individuals’ afflictions, and, more importantly, why did the parish priest certify it as well?
Whatever the case, these two were clearly the most common affliction among the townsfolk. Other listed afflictions that were quite numerous were corto de vista (near-sightedness), ciego (blindness), asmatico (asthma), potroso (afflicted with a rupture), cojo (cripple), and baquitico (bruises). There are also some diseases that were not very abundant, such as hemorrhaging, hemorrhoids, hernia, mudo (mute), and hinchado (bloated).
There are also some listed afflictions that are hereditary, such as enano (dwarfism), epelepsia (epilepsy), and blood diseases identified as baquitico de sangre (probably blood clotting) and flujo de sangre (blood flow), which may be probably blood-related diseases.
More than five generations have already passed since the list was made, so the chances of these diseases being passed down are now very slim. However, if, say, descendants of people listed as being dwarves married, then the risk of passing on dwarfism to their children is higher.
A full list of these people with hereditary diseases is now being compiled and their descendants identified so as to guarantee the monitoring of genetic diseases.
Whatever the case, these two were clearly the most common affliction among the townsfolk. Other listed afflictions that were quite numerous were corto de vista (near-sightedness), ciego (blindness), asmatico (asthma), potroso (afflicted with a rupture), cojo (cripple), and baquitico (bruises). There are also some diseases that were not very abundant, such as hemorrhaging, hemorrhoids, hernia, mudo (mute), and hinchado (bloated).
There are also some listed afflictions that are hereditary, such as enano (dwarfism), epelepsia (epilepsy), and blood diseases identified as baquitico de sangre (probably blood clotting) and flujo de sangre (blood flow), which may be probably blood-related diseases.
More than five generations have already passed since the list was made, so the chances of these diseases being passed down are now very slim. However, if, say, descendants of people listed as being dwarves married, then the risk of passing on dwarfism to their children is higher.
A full list of these people with hereditary diseases is now being compiled and their descendants identified so as to guarantee the monitoring of genetic diseases.
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