The last terrestrial border lazaretto: Vila Real de Santo António in the 'second cholera season' (1885/1886)

Abstract

Built on the beach of Meio do Alto, intended to accommodate individuals in quarantine arriving from Spain via the river, not subject to maritime health regulations, the lazaretto of Vila Real de Santo António was the last terrestrial lazaretto established in Portugal. Open to the public on July 15, 1885, it was also the final one to be closed on April 22, 1886, marking the end of the strictest version of traditional epidemic control measures in Portugal. This paper focuses on this lazaretto and the constraints associated with its creation. The analysis also includes the repatriation process of Algarve fishermen detained in Isla Cristina during the “second cholera season” of the cholera outbreak that began in 1884.