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- Smallpox Through Time
- c.1045BC |Face of a Pharaoh
- c.1562 |Arsenic and Old Lace
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- c.1721 |Experiment in Newgate
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- The American West
- Britain - Changing Lives
- This Module
- In 1853, Parliament passed a law making compulsory the vaccination of all infant children in Britain. The Vaccination Act provoked a furious protest. It was seen as an unprecedented encroachment by the state into the freedom of the individual to make informed medical choices. The story illustrates a public concern that reverberates into the modern age.
- Credits
Smallpox Through Time
- 10.Public Health, Public Protest
-
1840-1890
The story of how the compulsory vaccination of infants in Britain provoked a furious backlash. (3.25 mins)
Secondary Resources
- 1. The vaccine controversy
Over the past thirty years, historians have debated... Read more
- 2. Resistance to vaccination
From the start, vaccination had its critics... Read more
- 3. The persistence of smallpox
Because of widespread resistance to vaccination... Read more
- 4. Vaccination vs 'variolation'
Inoculation against smallpox ('variolation') was... Read more
- 5. The decline of smallpox in the West
By the early 20th century, smallpox fatalities...Read more
Picture Viewer
Location details
We shot this module in Westminster. How many times have I filmed pieces to camera with the Palace of Westminster as the backdrop? The Great Reform Act, the Chartists, Keir Hardie, the Suffragettes. Even the Gunpowder Plot (spot the glaring historical anachronism there!).
Filming the Palace of Westminster these days is frankly such a hassle. In this terrorist conscious age, getting permission to film there has become increasingly difficult. (The first freedom we gave up was the freedom to film the very building that's meant to secure our freedoms!).
Our Sponsor: The Wellcome Trust
The Wellcome Trust
The Wellcome Trust is a global charity dedicated to achieving improvements in human and animal health.
Timelines: "Smallpox through Time" was entirely funded with through a Wellcome Trust Public Engagement Award. We are very grateful for the Trust's support in the making of this resource.
