The Impact of the Atlantic Plague (1596–1602) on the City of Tui, according to the First Minute Book of the Municipal Council

Abstract

The demographic growth experienced by Galicia between 1480 and 1560 reached a turning point with the onset of a late-century crisis marked by years of famine – at least nine– interspersed with three plague cycles (1567–73, 1576–82 and 1598–99). The last of these, which is the focus of this article, had devastating effects on the city of Tui. Between 1591 and 1594, Tui had a total

of 496 householders, corresponding to approximately 1,785 inhabitants out of about 630,000 for the whole of Galicia, and formed part of a weak urban network in a predominantly rural territory. In addition, we show that the earliest extant minute books of municipal councils are a fundamental source for the study of epidemic episodes within the framework of the history of medicine. In this case, we analyze the first minute book of the council of Tui, which records the decisions adopted between 1597 and 1616 by the ordinary judges, aldermen and general procurators to regulate municipal life and, in particular, to manage the arrival of the Atlantic Plague in this small town.