Age of Pandemics: 8 key ideas
The core ideas of Age of Pandemics, each in under a minute, written in our own words. Want the full depth? Get the book.
- IDEA 1 OF 8
India saw an age of pandemics
Tumbe describes the century from 1817 to 1920 as an age of pandemics, when cholera, plague and influenza killed tens of millions of people in India.
He argues this history has been largely forgotten.
- IDEA 2 OF 8
Cholera spread from Bengal
In 1817 a deadly form of cholera spread from Bengal across India and the world.
Tumbe explains how trade, armies and pilgrimages helped carry the disease to distant places. Cholera returned again and again.
- IDEA 3 OF 8
Plague struck Bombay
In 1896 bubonic plague reached Bombay and spread across India.
Tumbe describes how it killed millions over the following decades and caused panic in cities. Many people fled the city in fear.
- IDEA 4 OF 8
Harsh measures caused resentment
British authorities responded to plague with forced inspections, segregation camps and house searches.
Tumbe describes how these measures angered people and even led to violent protests. Distrust of officials made the fight harder, and some resentment fed nationalist politics.
- IDEA 5 OF 8
Influenza was the deadliest
The influenza pandemic of 1918 killed more people in India than anywhere else in the world.
Tumbe describes how it spread rapidly through railways and returning soldiers. Weakened by famine, many could not resist it.
- IDEA 6 OF 8
Migration shaped disease and recovery
Tumbe, who studies migration, shows how pandemics drove people out of cities and back to villages.
These movements changed labour markets and family lives. Recovery often depended on these networks of migration between villages and cities.
- IDEA 7 OF 8
Pandemics changed public health
Tumbe describes how these crises led to new laws, health departments and scientific research.
Some changes improved health systems, though inequality persisted. The poor usually suffered most, and access to care remained deeply unequal for decades.
- IDEA 8 OF 8
History offers lessons today
Writing during COVID-19, Tumbe argues that past pandemics show the importance of trust, clear communication and support for the poor.
He hopes India will remember these lessons. Forgetting, he warns, has a cost.
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