Early consumer society and the 'care of the self'. The spread of non-European medical drugs in the inland of continental Europe, 1750-1850

• Applicant: Professorin Dr. Christine Fertig
• Subject Area: Modern and Contemporary History ; Early Modern History
• Term: since 2025
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 569036551

The project investigates the local trade in global medical drugs in three regions of central and northern Germany from the mid-18th to the mid-19th century. It explores the dissemination of non-European medical drugs in small-town and rural areas, beyond important trading centers and large cities. Medical drugs are understood here as substances that were perceived as such and consumed as remedies in contemporary discourse such as scholarly writings, encyclopedias, and handbooks. This project examines medical drugs that were imported in large quantities and were present in contemporary discourses, such as the South American roots of sassaparilla and jallapa, cinchona bark from Peru, and Chinese rhubarb root. Even luxury foods such as coffee, tea, and tobacco were initially seen as medical drugs and were highly controversial as such. While coffee and tobacco were consumed as luxury goods in continental Europe early on, Chinese tea was perceived and sold as a remedy for much longer. The project investigates the local trade in non-European medical drugs from three perspectives. Firstly, it traces how non-European medical drugs were sold in pharmacies, but also in material goods stores and by grocers, merchants and doctors. Secondly, the project will examine how the new medical drugs were advertised in periodicals such as intelligence bulletins aimed at a broad audience, how they were reported on, and how a new language of consumption emerged. Thirdly, the project will look at rural and small-town noble households as the places where new medical drugs were demanded and consumed as part of a new concern for the self. In this way, the project goes well beyond previous studies on Germany, which, on the one hand, focus on a few medical drugs that quickly established themselves as luxury items. On the other hand, the trade in colonial and other global goods has so far been studied almost exclusively for larger cities, courts, and residences, while there are hardly any studies of their distribution in rural areas and small towns, where the majority of the population lived. The project advances the field by taking an integrated multi-perspective approach that focuses on retailers and their sales strategies as well as consumers, their purchasing behavior, and their self-care.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants