The Great Plague Scare of 1720

Cindy Ermus is Assistant Professor of History at the University of Texas at San Antonio.

• Acknowledgements; List of Abbreviations; Introduction; 1. Plague in Provence; 2. 'L'état le plus exposé': The Plague of Provence in Genoa and Italy; 3. 'A Scheme so Barbarous and so Destructive': Responses to the Plague of Provence in London; 4. The Spanish Plague That Never Was: The Plague of Provence in Cádiz and Spain; 5. Entangled Empires: The Great Plague Scare in the Colonies; Epilogue; Bibliography; Index.

'Ermus's important new study shows how a regional disaster that caused catastrophic loss of life only within Provence and Languedoc created novel opportunities for nation-state authorities to centralize power and implement policies that led to trade advantages over their economic rivals. Plague in Provence provided rulers a powerful tool: fear' Ann G. Carmichael, Indiana University, Bloomington