Spinalonga on Crete, Greece, one of the last leprosy colonies in Europe, closed in 1957
A leper colony, also known by many other names, is an isolated community for the quarantining and treatment of lepers, people suffering from leprosy. M. leprae, the bacterium responsible for leprosy, is believed to have spread from East Africa through the Middle East, Europe, and Asia by the 5th century before reaching the rest of the world more recently. Historically, leprosy was believed to be extremely contagious and divinely ordained, leading to enormous stigma against its sufferers. Other severe skin diseases were frequently conflated with leprosy and all such sufferers were kept away from the general public, although some religious orders provided medical care and treatment. Recent research has shown M. leprae has maintained a similarly virulent genome over at least the last thousand years, leaving it unclear which precise factors led to leprosy's near elimination in Europe by 1700. A growing number of cases following the first wave of European colonization, however, led to increased attention towards leprosy during the New Imperialism of the late 19th century. Following G.A. Hansen's discovery of the role of M. leprae in the disease, the First International Leprosy Conference held in Berlin in 1897 renewed interest and investment in the isolation of lepers throughout the European colonial empires. Although Western countries now generally treat cases of leprosy individually on an outpatient basis, traditional isolated colonies continue to exist in India, China, and some other countries.
A lepercolony, also known by many other names, is an isolated community for the quarantining and treatment of lepers, people suffering from leprosy....
million pesos. The US territorial administration also issued Culion lepercolony coinage between 1913 and 1930. When the Philippines became a U.S. Commonwealth...
Lepercolony money was special money (scrip or vouchers) which circulated only in leper colonies (sanatoriums for people with leprosy) due to the fear...
The Culion lepercolony is a former leprosarium located on Culion, an island in the Palawan province of the Philippines. It was established by the U.S...
the stigmas attached to leprosy colonies.[citation needed] In 1904 a lepercolony was founded in the Philippines on a remote island called Culion, also...
song titled "Party at the LeperColony" on his album Poodle Hat. 2009 — Moloka'i is a novel by Alan Brennert about a lepercolony in Hawaii. This novel follows...
Following Venetian rule, when it was a fortress, the island became a lepercolony. According to Venetian documents, the name of the island originated in...
Somers (1929). "The LeperColony Currency of Colon". Numismatic Notes and Monographs. Arcilla, José S. (2009). "The Culion LeperColony, 1900s–1970s". Philippine...
the northern side of Molokai, followed by Kalaupapa as the sites of a lepercolony that operated from 1866 to 1969. Because Kalaupapa had a better climate...
missionary-priest Father Damien attracted considerable publicity to the lepercolony in the late 19th century; his story was recounted in popular culture...
would end up as a Wikipedia entry. "Party at the LeperColony" is a dance song set in a lepercolony. The song makes heavy use of wordplay, lampooning...
tried to banish all lepers to the outskirt of the colony. Three years later, after much objection from citizens of the colony and a devastating hurricane...
mumps, measles, smallpox, and leprosy (which lead to the creation of a lepercolony on Molokai in the mid-1800s). While each disease brought a different...
also used as a lepercolony and animal quarantine station. Starting in 1845, lepers from the Hemel-en-Aarde (heaven and earth) lepercolony near Caledon...
Molly Maguires; as a corrupt gambler in Farewell, My Lovely; as the lepercolony chief Toussaint in the 1973 historical drama prison film Papillon; as...
an American physician and missionary. She worked at the Buôn Ma Thuột lepercolony where she was taken as a prisoner of war on May 30, 1962. She is currently...
Kuang and Kuala Selangor, Sungai Buloh is notable for its colonial-era lepercolony, one of the largest in the country. No clear historical records regarding...
by Forugh Farrokhzad. The film is a look at life and suffering in a lepercolony and focuses on the human condition and the beauty of creation. It is...
surgery, and the Swedish doctor Rune Orquist, who treats patients at a lepercolony. Mariamma - Big Ammachi's namesake and granddaughter Big Ammachi - lead...
the colony. On July 18, 1912, acting Governor General Newton Gilbert signed EO No. 35 in which he further defined the territory of the lepercolony and...
in 1951 for impersonating a priest. He was soliciting donations for a lepercolony in British Guiana (now Guyana) under the auspices of the "Brother Mathias...
uninhabited in 1512. After a 1786 British colony failed, the French began using the island as a lepercolony and, starting in 1793, coconut cultivation...
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