Butterfly-weed (Asclepias tuberosa) is the pleurisy-root of America, where it has a considerable reputation as an article of the materia medica. It is an expectorant, a mild cathartic, and a diaphoretic, and is employed in incipient pulmonary affections, rheumatism, and dysentery. Research Butterfly-Weed
Cynomorium is a genus of plants, of the natural order Cynomoriaceae. Cynomorium coccineum, the fungus melitensis of the old herbalists, is a small plant which grows in Sicily, Malta, and Gozo, and was valued as an astringent and styptic in dysentery and haemorrhage. Research Cynomorium
Tamarind (Tamarinda indica) is a tropical evergreen tree of the Leguminosae family native to the east and west Indies. The tamarind grows to a height of 18 metres and has flowers that are borne in loose racemes and are yellow with red markings, succeeded by bean-like pods, seven to fifteen centimetres long. The pods are brittle and filled with an acidpulp in which are hard seeds. The pod is used as a laxative medicine. The bark of the tamarind is used in cases of dysentery and as a tonic. A yellow dye is obtained from the leaves. Research Tamarind
Sir Francis Drake was an English seaman, pirate and murderer. He was born in 1539 or 1545 near Tavistock and died in 1596 of dysentery. The son of a poor farmer, he was apprenticed to the master of a coasting vessel, he was left the ship on the master's death. He accompanied Sir John Hawkins in 1567 in an action against the Spaniards, losing nearly all he possessed in that unfortunate enterprise. Having gathered a number of adventurers round him he contrived to fit out a vessel in which he made two successful pirate cruises to the West Indies in 1570 and 1571 and then set out in 1572 to plunder the Spanish Main, captured the cities of Nombre de Dios and Vera Cruz, and took a rich booty which he brought safely home, returning to England in 1573. After serving in Ireland as a volunteer, he suggested to the queen, Elizabeth I, an expedition to the Pacific, and in December 1577 he sailed in the Pelican with four other ships and 166 men.
In August 1578 the fleet passed through the straits of Magellan in sixteen days, plundered all along the coasts of Chile and Peru, sacked several ports, and captured a galleon laden with silver, gold, jewels, etc, to the value of perhaps 200,000 pounds and was then blown south to Cape Horn. The remaining ships became separated and returned to England, leaving the Pelican, now renamed the Golden Hind, alone in the Pacific. Drake sailed north along the coast of Chile and Peru, plundering Spanish ships as far as north as California, and then in July 1579 sailed south-west across the Pacific. He rounded the Cape in June 1580, and reached England in September, thus making the first voyage around the world by an Englishman. The voyage, however, was sullied by the murder by Drake of one of his captains, Thomas Doubty, for reporting the theft of supplies by Drake's brother, and the murder by Drake of a black slave girl, Maria, who, having fallen pregnant by Drake or one of his crew was marooned on a deserted island of the Spice Islands, and left his crew aggrieved when despite his promise he refused to share any of the stolen loot they had taken from the Spanish with them.
As there was no war between England and Spain the proceedings of Francis Drake were piracy. Courtiers were not pleased with receiving stolen goods from Drake, but the queen - receiving large amounts of money - maintained that they were lawful reprisals for the action of the Spaniards, and showed her favour to Francis Drake by knighting him on board his own ship. Five years afterwards Francis Drake was again attacking the Spaniards in the Cape Verde Islands and in the West Indies, and in 1588 particularly distinguished himself as vice-admiral in the conflict with the Spanish Armada, though contemporaries noted that during the action Drake's ship sped off after the unarmed Spanish pay ship and its gold which Drake wanted for himself, leaving the other English ships to face the Spanish warships. Reports of cowardice were made against Drake by the captains of the remainder of the English fleet, but Drake's wealth and continued bribes of the queen ensured bus position.
In 1593 he represented Plymouth in parliament. His later expeditions, that in 1595 against the Spanish West Indies and that to Panama, were not so successful, and his death, which took place in 1596 at sea off Porto Bello, was allegedly hastened by disappointment, the reality was the not to glamorous dysentery. Research Francis Drake
Sir Henry Havelock was a British soldier. He was born in 1795 at Bishop-Wearmouth, near Sunderland and died in 1857 of dysentry. Having entered the army, he served with distinction in the Burmese war of 1824 to 1826. In 1829 he married a daughter of Marshman, the celebrated missionary, became a Baptist, and was noted during the remainder of his life by his earnest religious zeal. He attained his captaincy in 1838, participated in the Afghan war, was present at the storming of Ghazni and the capture of Kabul, and in Sale's march to Jelalabad, and assisted in the defence of that city, and in the defeat of Mohammed Akbar in 1843.
He was made a Companion of the Bath, and brevet-major, took part in the Mahratta war, and distinguished himself in the Sikh war of 1845, being present at Mudki, Ferozeshah, and Sobraon. In 1851 he was promoted to the adjutant-generalship of the queen's forces in India, and he commanded a division in the Persian war of 1856 to 1857. On the outbreak of the Indian mutiny he was despatched to Allahabad in order to support Sir H. Lawrence at Lucknow and Sir H. Wheeler at Cawnpore. On his march to Cawnpore he defeated the rebels at Fattihpur, Aong, Pandunadi, and Maharajpur. On arriving at Cawnpore he found that Nana Sahib had massacred the prisoners. Pursuing his march to Lucknow, he defeated the rebels at Bithoor, and finally, with the aid of Outram, won the battle of Alumbagh. Having captured Lucknow, Henry Havelock and Outram were shut up there until relieved by Sir Colin Campbell on the 17th of November 1857. He died of dysentery at Dilkusha on the 24th. He was raised to the rank of major-general, made a K.C.B., and (before his death was known) created a baronet. Research Henry Havelock
Henry V was King of England from 1413 to 1422. He was born in 1386 at Monmouth and died in 1422 of dysentery. Soon after his accession, Henry V restored their estates to the Percies, and liberated the Earl of March, but in other respects based his internal administration upon that of his father. He laid claim to the French crown.
Henry V landed near Harfleur in August, 1415, and though its capture cost him more than half his army he decided to return to England by way of Calais. A large French army endeavoured to intercept him at the plain of Agincourt, but was completely routed in October, 1415. A year later the French were defeated at sea by the Duke of Bedford. In 1417 the liberal grants of the Commons enabled Henry once more to invadeNormandy with 25,000 men.
The assassination of the Duke of Burgundy, which induced his son and successor to join Henry, greatly added to his power, and the alliance was soon followed by the famous Treaty of Troyes signed on May the 21st, 1420, by which Henry engaged to marry the PrincessCatharine, and to leave Charles VI in possession of the crown, on condition that it should go to Henry and his heirs at his decease.
Henry V returned in triumph to England, but on the defeat of his brother, the Duke of Clarence, in Normandy by the Earl of Buchan, he again set out for France, drove back the army of the dauphin, and entered Paris. A son was at this time born to him, and all his great projects seemed about to be realized, when he died of dysentry at Vincennes in August, 1422, at the age of thirty-four, and in the tenth year of his reign. He was succeeded by his son Henry VI. Research Henry V
John was a king of England reigning from 1199 to 1216. He was an able administrator interested in law and government but he neither trusted others nor was trusted by them. Heavy taxation, disputes with the Church (John was excommunicated by the Pope in 1209) and unsuccessful attempts to recover his French possessions made him unpopular. Many of his barons rebelled and in June 1215 they forced the King to sign a peace treaty accepting their reforms. This treaty, later known as the Magna Carta, limited royal powers, defined feudal obligations between the King and the barons, and guaranteed a number of rights. The most influential clauses concerned the freedom of the Church; the redress of grievances of owners and tenants of land; the need to consult the Great Council of the Realm so as to prevent unjust taxation; mercantile and trading relationships; regulation of the machinery of justice so that justice be denied to no one; and the requirement to control the behaviour of royal officials. The most important clauses established the basis of habeas corpus ('you have the body'), i.e. that no one shall be imprisoned except by due process of law, and that 'to no one will we sell, to no one will we refuse or delay right or justice'.
The Charter also established a council of barons who were to ensure that the Sovereign observed the Charter, with the right to wage war on him if he did not. The Magna Carta was the first formal document insisting that the Sovereign was as much under the rule of law as his people; and that the rights of individuals were to be upheld even against the wishes of the sovereign. As a source of fundamental constitutional principles, the Magna Carta came to be seen as an important definition of aspects of English law, and in later centuries as the basis of the liberties of the English people. As a peace treaty the Magna Carta was a failure and the rebels invited prince Louis of France to become their king. When John died in 1216 of dysentery, England was in the grip of civil war but the barons proclaimed Louis king.
Amoebic dysentery is an illness caused by the pathogen Entamoeba histolytica which is transmitted by the faecal-oral route. Cysts are excreted in the faeces of an infected individual or carrier and ingested through faecally-contaminated food, water, objects, etc. After excystation, the trophozoites penetrate the walls of the large intestines causing ulceration and frequently causing the symptoms of dysentery. Involvement of the liver and other organs may occur if the protozoan invades the blood. Research Amoebic dysentery
Balantidiasis is an infection caused by cysts of the protozoan Balantidiumcoli. Balantidiumcoli is the largest and only ciliated protozoan that is pathogenic to humans. The protezoa is a normal inhabitant of the domestic pig. Cysts are excreted in the faeces of pigs and are transmitted to humans through the food or water that comes in contact with the faeces. The incubation period of the cysts is unknown, but is believed to be only a few days. The cysts are swallowed by the new host and carried to the large intestine of humans where they cause diarrhea. In severe cases, the protozoa inhabit the intestinal wall causing painful ulcers and abscesses. In extreme cases, the protozoa then cause dysentery and death. In underdeveloped countries with poor sanitation habits and poor hygiene methods epidemics may arise from faecally contaminated water. The infection is diagnosed by the presence of the cysts in fecal samples of the infected host. Research Balantidiasis
Dysentery is of two main types, namely bacillary and amebic, caused by different forms of infection, but in both there is inflammation of the mucousmembrane lining the lower or large bowel. The symptoms are those of enteritis and colitis, diarrhaea with small loose stools containing mucus and blood, abdominal tenderness, griping pain, and tenesmus during evacuation. Bacillary dysentery is a very infectious disease caused by various specific bacterial organisms (Sonne, Shiga and Flexner bacilli) which occur in impure water, contaminated food and excreta, and are often conveyed by flies or by 'carriers'.
The incubation period may be only a few hours, and is seldom more than three days. The disease is prevalent where insanitary conditions occur, and epidemics are common especially in the tropics. The disease develops suddenly with loss of appetite, lassitude, fever, shivering, heat of the skin, and a quickpulse. These are followed by griping pains in the bowels, and a constant desire to evacuate, and prostration. In general the stools are small and slimy, composed of mucus mixed with blood. Defaecation is attended and followed by severe griping and inclination to strain, called tormina and tenesmus; they are sometimes in the early stages attended by nausea and vomiting. The natural faeces are passed in the first few evacuations. Tenesmus continues and perhaps increases for several days, the discharges being mostly blood in some cases, and chiefly mucus in others. Having generally but little odour at first, these discharges become, as the disease advances, exceedingly offensive.
Vomiting is common, and there may be a high or low temperature, with headache. The disease may be severe or moderate in its course. In severe cases there are thirst, muscular pains, blueness of the face, extreme tenderness of the abdomen, hiccough, prostration, incontinence and a high mortality rate. If recovery follows convalescence is slow, with recurrent diarrhaea and various complications such as arthritis, iritis, chronic colitis, peritonitis, piles, boils, etc. In mild cases the symptoms abate after four or
five days. Research Dysentery
The Probert Encyclopaedia was designed, edited and programed by
Matt and Leela Probert
Abbreviations
Research Butterfly-Weed
