Poisons of the Past: Molds, Epidemics, and History

by Mary Kilbourne Matossian

Did food poisoning cause the Black Plague, the Salem witch-hunts, and other significant events in human history? In this pathbreaking book, historian Mary Kilbourne Matossian argues that epidemics, sporadic outbursts of bizarre behavior, and low fertility and high death rates from the fourteenth to the eighteenth centuries may have been caused by food poisoning from microfungi in bread, the staple food in Europe and America during this period.
“A bold book with a stimulating thesis. Matossian’s claims for the role of food poisoning will need to be incorporated into any satisfactory account of past demographic trends.”—John Walter, Nature
“Matossian’s work is innovative and original, modest and reasoned, and opens a door on our general human past that historians have not only ignored, but often did not even know existed.”—William Richardson, Environmental History Review
“This work demonstrates an impressive variety of cross-national sources. Its broad sweep also reveals the importance of the history of agriculture and food and strengthens the view that the shift from the consumption of mold-poisoned rye bread to the potato significantly contributed to an improvement in the mental and physical health of Europeans and Americans.”—Naomi Rogers, Journal of American History
“This work is a true botanical-historical tour de force.”—Rudolf Schmid, Journal of the International Association of Plant Taxonomy
“Intriguing and lucid.”—William K. Beatty, Journal of the American Medical Association

Genres: History, Science, Nonfiction, Medicine, Biology

207 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1989

Reviews

[Mark Isaak · Rating 3 out of 5]

Matossian makes the case that fungal food poisonings (mainly ergot, but also Fusarium toxins) have influenced history in significant ways: witchcraft accusations, mortality and fertility rates, the Great Fear of 1789, colonial New England "throat distemper", and the Great Awakening. She makes strong arguments with statistical as well as historical anecdotal data. She includes speculation also, and though I don't fault her for that, some of it is weak or even contradictory (e.g., ergot symptoms can be pleasant or unpleasant, and her speculation chooses whichever way is convenient). Don't expect entertainment; the book is written in a scholarly style. But it is concise and interesting.

[B Kevin · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was rather tedious. Interesting subject matter, but hardly a page turner.