Dziewiętnastowieczny Poznań był miastem zaniedbanym pod względem komunalnym i przeludnionym. Utworzenie fortyfikacji wokół Poznania dodatkowo hamowało jego rozwój przestrzenny. Poza murami twierdzy nie było takiego skupiska ludności, jak w śródmieściu, ale za to problem stanowiła bieda oraz ograniczony dostęp do opieki medycznej. Celem niniejszego opracowania jest wykazanie zróżnicowania w przyczynach zgonów oraz ich ekologiczno-kulturowego uwarunkowania wśród poznaniaków z wybranych dzielnic miasta. Dane o przyczynach zgonów zaczerpnięto z ksiąg zgonów dla 4 katolickich parafii: św. Marcina, św. Rocha, św. Marii Magdaleny i św. Małgorzaty. Księgi zdeponowane są w Archiwum Państwowym w Poznaniu. Dla wymienionych parafii obliczono procentowy rozkład przyczyn zgonów w 4 kategoriach wiekowych zmarłych: 0-1 miesiąc, 2 miesiące-1 rok, 2-14 lat oraz 50+. Różnice w częstościach przyczyn zgonów pomiędzy parafiami weryfikowano testem u. W XIX-wiecznym Poznaniu głównym regulatorem umieralności były choroby zakaźne. Najwięcej zgonów wywołanych szkarlatyną, kokluszem, ospą, odrą i tzw. „wysypkami” (prawie 12%) odnotowano w ubogiej parafii św. Małgorzaty. Odsetek zgonów na cholerę był najmniejszy w podmiejskiej parafii św. Rocha i wynosił jedynie 2%. W parafii św. Rocha i św. Marcina chorzenia neurologiczne stanowiły odpowiednio 13,6% i 25,7% wszystkich zgonów. Najczęstszą przyczyną zgonów w parafii św. Rocha była słabość - śmiertelność z jej powodu osiągnęła poziomu prawie 23% wszystkich zgonów. Pozostałe parafie charakteryzowały się znacznie niższym odsetkiem zgonów z przyczyn neurologicznych (od prawie 4% do 7,5%). Częstość zgonów na gruźlicę także różnicowała badane parafie. Najwięcej odnotowano ich w parafii ze śródmieścia (św. Marii Magdaleny) oraz w parafiach: św. Małgorzaty i św. Marcina, najmniej w parafii św. Rocha. Tę ostatnią z kolei wyróżniała wysoka śmiertelność z powodu tzw. gorączek. Rozbieżności w częstościach zgonów z wymienionych przyczyn pomiędzy ludnością z centrum miasta i tą z dzielnic podmiejskich wynikały z przyczyn ekologicznych i kulturowych, w tym z niskiego poziomu fachowej wiedzy na temat chorób, co ostatecznie przekładało się na ich błędne rozpoznawanie i diagnozowanie.

What did the inhabitants of Poznań die of? The analysis of death causes in environmentally and culturally diversified districts of Poznań

In the 19th century, Poznań was an overpopulated and municipally-wise neglected city. Additionally, the fortifications surrounding Poznań blocked its spatial development. Behind the city walls, population was much lower than in the downtown area. However, poverty and limited access to healthcare were the real problems. The aim of the article is to demonstrate selected causes of death in selected Poznan districts and the role of environmental and cultural factors in this subject. Data on death cases are derived from the church registers in 4 Roman Catholic parishes: St. Martin’s, St. Roch’s, St. Mary Magdalene’s and St. Margaret’s. These registers are deposited in the National Archive in Poznan. For the abovementioned parishes, death causes were presented in percentage values and categorized in four age groups: children up to one moth, children between 2 months and 1 year, children between 2 and 14 years and people over 50 years old. Differences that appear when it comes to the number of death causes among the parishes were verified with the u test. In the 19th century, in Poznań the most common mortality regulator were infectious diseases. The largest number of deaths caused by scarlet flu, pertussis, smallpox, measles and the socalled “rashes” (almost 12%) was registered in a poor St.Margaret’s parish. The cholera death toll was the smallest in the suburban St. Roch’s parish – only 2% of deaths were caused by it. In St. Roch’s and St. Martin’s parishes, neurological diseases were responsible for 13.6% and 25.7% of all the deaths respectively. The most common death cause in St. Roch’s parish was weakness – weakness-related mortality reached 23% of all deaths. All the other parishes had much lower mortality rate related to neurological diseases (from almost 4% to 7.5%). Number of tuberculosis- related deaths also differed among the parishes. The highest mortality was observed in the downtown parish (St. Mary Magdalene’s) and in St. Margaret’s and St. Martin’s. The lowest – in St. Roch’s. However, St. Roch’s had a high mortality rate caused by the so-called fevers. Environmental and cultural factors, e. g. poor medical knowledge and therefore bad identification and diagnosis, influenced the fact that people from the downtown area and people from the suburbs died from different reasons and at different times.

In the 19th century, Poznań was an overpopulated and municipally-wise neglected city. Additionally, the fortifications surrounding Poznań blocked its spatial development. Behind the city walls, population was much lower than in the downtown area. However, poverty and limited access to healthcare were the real problems. The aim of the article is to demonstrate selected causes of death in selected Poznan districts and the role of environmental and cultural factors in this subject. Data on death cases are derived from the church registers in 4 Roman Catholic parishes: St. Martin’s, St. Roch’s, St. Mary Magdalene’s and St. Margaret’s. These registers are deposited in the National Archive in Poznan. For the abovementioned parishes, death causes were presented in percentage values and categorized in four age groups: children up to one moth, children between 2 months and 1 year, children between 2 and 14 years and people over 50 years old. Differences that appear when it comes to the number of death causes among the parishes were verified with the u test. In the 19th century, in Poznań the most common mortality regulator were infectious diseases. The largest number of deaths caused by scarlet flu, pertussis, smallpox, measles and the socalled “rashes” (almost 12%) was registered in a poor St.Margaret’s parish. The cholera death toll was the smallest in the suburban St. Roch’s parish – only 2% of deaths were caused by it. In St. Roch’s and St. Martin’s parishes, neurological diseases were responsible for 13.6% and 25.7% of all the deaths respectively. The most common death cause in St. Roch’s parish was weakness – weakness-related mortality reached 23% of all deaths. All the other parishes had much lower mortality rate related to neurological diseases (from almost 4% to 7.5%). Number of tuberculosis- related deaths also differed among the parishes. The highest mortality was observed in the downtown parish (St. Mary Magdalene’s) and in St. Margaret’s and St. Martin’s. The lowest – in St. Roch’s. However, St. Roch’s had a high mortality rate caused by the so-called fevers. Environmental and cultural factors, e. g. poor medical knowledge and therefore bad identification and diagnosis, influenced the fact that people from the downtown area and people from the suburbs died from different reasons and at different times.