Cowell, Christopher, author.

Form follows fever : malaria and the construction of Hong Kong, 1841-1849 / Christopher Cowell.

Hong Kong : The Chinese University of Hong Kong Press, [2024]
©2024.

xx, 352 pages : color illustrations, color maps (1 folded) ; 27 cm

Form Follows Fever' is the first in-depth account of the turbulent years of initial urban settlement and growth of colonial Hong Kong across the 1840s. During this period, the island gained a terrible reputation as a diseased and deadly location. Malaria, then perceived as a mysterious vapor or miasma, intermittently carried off settlers by the hundreds. Various attempts to arrest its effects acted as a catalyst, reconfiguring both the city's physical and political landscape, though not necessarily for the better. The study draws upon many hitherto unpublished textual sources, including medical reports, personal diaries and letters, government records, journal accounts, newspaper articles, and advertisements. As this history is set a decade before the introduction of photography to the colony, the book relies upon a variety of alternate visual evidence - from previously lost watercolor illustrations of the city to maps, plans, and drawings - that individually and in combination provide trace material enabling the reconstruction of this strange and rapidly evolving society.

9789882372900 (hardcover)
9882372902 (hardcover)

Urbanization China Hong Kong History 19th century.
Malaria China Hong Kong History.
Urbanisation Chine Hongkong Histoire 19e siècle.
Paludisme Chine Hongkong Histoire.
British colonies
Colonies Administration
Malaria
Urbanization
Great Britain Colonies Administration.
Grande-Bretagne Colonies Administration.
China Hong Kong

History

Location: Library study room new acquisitions 325670
Call No.: 325670
Copy: 1
Status: Available