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Abstract

This dissertation examines the relationship between soap manufacturing and the city of Marseille across the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries with a specific focus on the effects of toxic soap pollution on the central port neighborhoods of the city. In highlighting the impact of this pollution on the health of the city’s residents, I argue that there were contradictions inherent to modern notions of ‘cleanliness’ and public health in which the aspirations of a cleaner and healthier bodies came into conflict with the aspiration for clean cities. During this period, the greater the obsession with health and cleanliness became, the more toxic soap waste filled the streets of Marseille. There was therefore a paradox at the heart of French public health management: cleanliness for some meant filth for others. Health for some depended on the sacrifice of others. I focus on the period between 1810 and 1917, years which saw the two most significant pieces of legislation regulating industrial pollution in France, but which also span the years of peak soap production in Marseille and, thus, the most acute phase of the soap pollution crisis. I begin by tracing the evolving ways that Marseille’s soap was used over time in order to highlight the preoccupations which gave rise to a growing demand for soap. I then turn to the historical methods used to produce soap to show how the expanding scale of production combined with new ingredients created an increasingly toxic waste product, setting the stage for ongoing challenges as city leaders struggled to manage the impact of that pollution. I then explore why the institutional apparatus designed to regulate industry in Marseille failed to mitigate the effects of soap waste: namely, their unwillingness to compromise local business and the lack of adequate waste disposal techniques. In showcasing the failure of public officials to respond to the plight of affected residents, we can fully appreciate ‘the path not taken’ by local leaders. The unique concentration of soap-production in Marseille also means that this story sheds light on the historical development of the city itself. I argue that the contextualization of the soap industry is essential for understanding the operation of local and departmental government and the physical remaking of the city by industrial development and waste management. Lastly, the concentration of soap production in Marseille underscores the long-standing role that the city played in the management of public health in France since the Ancien Régime. From the central node in France’s quarantine apparatus to the leading French industrial producer of soap, Marseille stood at the helm of French public health management over the course of this period. In this way, the city which carried a reputation as one of the dirtiest cities in Europe might, ironically, deserve fresh appreciation as a city that has long protected Europe from disease. Indeed, this provincial city, long denigrated by popular stereotypes, offers key insight into the localized and decentralized ways that industrial regulation and public health administration functioned in France during this period.

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