A brief Journal of what passed in the City of Marseilles, while it was afflicted with the Plague, in the Year 1720

A vivid, day‑by‑day chronicle drawn from the council chambers of Marseille, this journal immerses listeners in the city’s first frantic weeks of the 1720 plague. Written by a municipal counselor tasked with keeping official records, it captures the mix of bureaucratic detail and human anxiety that defined the early response to a deadly threat. The narrative opens with the arrival of merchant vessels, the careful inspection of their health certificates, and the city’s strict quarantine protocols aimed at keeping the contagion at bay.

As the record unfolds, listeners hear the unsettling pattern of illness among sailors, dockworkers, and infirmary staff, each case noted with cautious medical observations that struggle to confirm infection. The tension between hopeful reports of “no mark of contagion” and the mounting deaths creates a palpable sense of dread. Through these terse entries, the journal offers a rare glimpse into how an early‑modern port city grappled with fear, authority, and the relentless spread of disease.