The 1871 Yellow Fever Epidemic That Reshaped Buenos Aires

In 1871, Buenos Aires was a city on the rise, but a catastrophic yellow fever outbreak would kill thousands and forever change its social geography. This episode follows the epidemic from its first suspected cases in the working-class neighborhoods of San Telmo and Montserrat to the mass exodus of the wealthy to the northern suburbs, a flight that accelerated the city's north-south divide. We meet Dr. Francisco Muñiz, the city's most tireless physician, who stayed behind while many of his colleagues fled, and whose letters and reports provide a harrowing firsthand account. We explore how the disease spread through crowded conventillos, how the municipal government collapsed under the strain, and how the epidemic led to major reforms in public health, sanitation, and the creation of the city's first public cemetery, Chacarita, which was born out of the need to bury the dead quickly. We also touch on the controversial role of the newly formed Asistencia Pública and the debates over quarantine and quarantine-breaking. By the end, you'll understand how this tragedy didn't just kill thousands—it fundamentally reshaped the city's layout, its class structure, and its approach to public health, setting the stage for the modern Buenos Aires we know today.

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