Blog by Anna Batzeli

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the shipping community collaborated with national and international organizations to implement health and safety protocols on ships. Additionally, it contributed to managing the crisis by ensuring the delivery of essential goods to regions in need, such as medical supplies, medicines, and vaccines. ¹  The COVID-19 pandemic is only one example of the shipping community’s involvement in health management and disease prevention, which dates back several centuries. 

Maritime history provides numerous well-documented examples of the intersection between the shipping and health sectors: the quarantine systems of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, the use of international maritime signal flags beginning in the seventeenth century, the establishment of maritime health organizations in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. 

I am presenting here a lesser-known example of the Greek shipping community’s involvement in preventing health emergencies on a small island during the interwar period. Their contribution was significant, as they not only filled a gap left by local and central authorities, who lacked the capacity and resources to manage and prevent health emergencies, but their efforts also had positive impacts on the local community—improving their quality of life—and on the local economy.

Andros Island’s Health Crisis of 1935 

During the interwar period,² Andros, a small island in the Aegean Sea, had dealt with regular typhoid fever outbreaks due to its ailing sewage system and obsolete water supply management. A lack of health and hygiene literacy and limited resources for key public services compounded the problem.³

During the first half of January 1935, a large and persistent outbreak of typhoid fever caused by contaminated water occurred in the city of Andros. In less than three months, this city of approximately 1,600 residents confirmed 130 cases and reported eight deaths.³ By the first half of April 1935, the public health crisis seemed to be under control due to the mass vaccination of the population in the city and in neighboring villages. Nevertheless, the crisis had not ended, as the cause of the disease remained addressed. This was confirmed in late April 1935, when three children tested positive for typhoid fever. Two of these children had already been vaccinated twice.⁵

Reports from health experts emphasized that repairing, rehabilitating, and renewing the water supply network was the only way to prevent future outbreaks of typhoid fever and other waterborne diseases on Andros. Yet it was clear that without the support of social, economic, and individual actors, local authorities would not be able to cover the costs of these necessary repairs.⁶

The Andros shipping community played a key role in the response efforts. At the time, Andros shipping companies were responsible for 22% of all Greek merchant shipping, ranking second only to Piraeus, the country’s largest port.⁷ Members of the shipping community actively participated in committees overseeing donations; significant contributions came from crews, shipping agents, and shipowners. ⁸ Additionally, a local shipowner leveraged personal connections with political figures in Athens and helped Andros Municipality secure a loan on favorable terms. The project could not have been completed without this loan, as donations covered only 40% of the total cost.⁹ This makes the Andros case study unique in Greek interwar history, a significant example of the shipping community’s involvement in post-health crisis management. Furthermore, Andros was the only community to provide a permanent solution to the recurring typhoid fever outbreaks caused by poor water supply management—an issue that was widespread in several Greek cities at the time.

Working Together for a Cause 

The active involvement of the Andros shipping community was essential to the completion of the project to rehabilitate the water supply network on the island. Although such infrastructure projects do not often make headlines, this one did. One local newspaper announced: “It is a work born from our souls and will stand as an example of what miracles can be achieved when we all work together for a great cause.” Not only did the project contribute to the prevention of future typhoid fever epidemics, it also optimized the quality of life for the residents and highlighted the importance of social cohesion and cooperation. Residents from all social classes participated according to their capabilities and contributed to managing the health crisis and preventing future ones. The 1935 crisis led to grassroots mobilization and raised awareness about the importance of cooperation in solving common challenges. 

Anna Batzeli is currently a postdoctoral researcher at the Democritus University of Thrace. She specializes in the modern history of Southeastern Europe, and has written on topics related to social history, military history, the history of health, and archival research. Anna has published two books and several papers in peer-reviewed journals, as well as academic blogs. Her publications can be found at: https://auth.academia.edu/AnnaBatzeli. 

References:

1. An Implementation Guide for the Management of COVID-19 on Board Cargo Ships and Fishing Vessels: Interim Guidance (World Health Organization, 2021), https://iris.who.int/bitstream/handle/10665/350941/WHO-2019-nCoV-Non-passenger_ships-2021.1-eng.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y
2.  Interwar Greece was suffering from the long-term political, financial, and social consequences of the Greek-Turkish War of 1919–1922. Despite efforts to improve the efficiency and structure of the public sector, access to sanitation and clean water in suburban and rural areas remained limited, especially in small islands like Andros.
3. Andriotis (Ανδριώτης), October 16, 1926, 1; Andriotis April 6, 1935, 2; Andriotis March 30, 1935, 1; The Voice of Greece (Η Ηχώ της Ελλάδας), April 3, 1935, 1; Morning (Πρωΐα), March 30, 1935, 1; Hestia (Εστία), March 29, 1935.
4. Population of Greece in the census of May 15–16, 1928, Hellenic Statistical Authority, Digital Library, http://dlib.statistics.gr/portal/page/portal/ESYE/yeararticles?p_topic=10007862&p_cat=10007862&p_catage=1928; Andriotis, April 6, 1935, 3–4; Andriotis, March 30, 1935; Hestia, March 29, 1935, 1.
5. Andriotis, April 27, 1935, 4; April 20, 1935, 1, 4; April 13, 1935, 4.
6.  Ibid.
7. Andriotis, May 11, 1935, 1. Despite having a population of only 2,000, the port of Andros ranked as the second most important port in the country during a time when Greece’s total population was approximately 6.25 million.
8. Andriotis, May 11, 1935, 1; Pan-Cycladic Struggle (Πανγκυκλαδικός Αγών), May 1, 1935, 1; Morning, April 28, 1935, 2.
9. Andriotis, January 23, 1937, 1
10. Image)Andros island. Original photograph by Photo Studio Onnik, operating in Andros from 1935 to 1970. Courtesy of Digital Collections of the Hellenic Literary and Historical Archive (ELIA).