Fumifugium or the inconveniencie of the aer and smoak of London dissipated together with some remedies humbly proposed by J.E. esq. to His Sacred Majesty, and to the Parliament now assembled by John Evelyn
This month’s featured text is Fumifugium, or, The inconveniencie of the aer and smoak of London dissipated together with some remedies humbly proposed by J.E. esq. to His Sacred Majestie, and to the Parliament now assembled. John Evelyn wrote Fumifugium in 1661 as a call to clean up the city of London. The pamphlet described the effects of pollution on the city of London and its populace. To combat the pollution problem, Evelyn proposed moving such industries as breweries and lime-burners to locations far outside of London to prevent the soot from settling in the city. In addition to relocating polluting industries, Evelyn also encouraged gardens and orchards to be planted on the city’s periphery that the “the whole City, would be sensible of the sweet and ravishing varieties of the perfumes.” In contrast to unpleasant odors, which were believed to cause illness, pleasant odors were thought to be healthful and curative. Following the publication of Fumifugium, Evelyn was appointed to the Royal Society and served on commissions for several monarchs. He died in 1706.

Though not the first author to note the contaminating effects of London’s unhealthy practices, Evelyn’s work is one of the most well known early writings on air pollution. Beyond the discussion of the air pollution problem, however, historians have argued that Fumifugium is also of a politically charged nature. The pamphlet was written shortly after the coronation of Charles II and was presented to him a few months later. After Charles took the throne, the monarchy, represented as the sun in Fumifugium and in many other texts, was no longer obscured by the noxious clouds of the Interregnum (the period from 1649-1660 when parliament and Oliver Cromwell ruled England). Overall, the text is not only a representation of the environmental concerns of the day, but reflects the political atmosphere in 17th century England.

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