EXILE AND COMPASSION: THE MANAGEMENT OF LEPROSY IN THE COOK ISLANDS, 1925-95

Authors

Raeburn Lange, Golden Bay, New ZealandFollow

Abstract

After its introduction to the northern Cook Islands in the nineteenth century, leprosy (Hansen's disease) gradually spread throughout the group and became a public health problem. This article traces the history of the disease and its management from the time when the colonial government ceased to rely only on the isolation of leprosy sufferers on islets with in the Cook group and began to supplement its internal control measures by sending many of the patients to Makogai in Fiji. The authorities' changing approaches to the control of leprosy in the group throughout the period are examined as a way of exploring the relationship between colonial power and the indigenous population, and inquiry is made into the balance between the Cook Islands leprosy sufferers' experience of exile to Makogai and the more positive aspects of their community life there.

Recommended Citation

Lange, Raeburn (2013) "EXILE AND COMPASSION: THE MANAGEMENT OF LEPROSY IN THE COOK ISLANDS, 1925-95," Pacific Studies Journal: Vol. 36: No. 3, Article 2.
Available at: https://digitalcollections.byuh.edu/pacific-studies-journal/vol36/iss3/2