POISON

FRENCH POISON HISTORY

• The art of poisons was believed to have originated in Italy.
• It then immigrated to France.
• Caterina de Medici brought poison to France in 1533.
• A lot of crimes went unpunished because it was hard to detect the person who poisoned.

POPULATION AND MOLD POISONING

• During 1750-1850, the population grew with unprecedented steadiness.
• Weather and dietary changes reduced the incident of mold poisoning.
• It stimulated fertility and reduced mortality.

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CHEMISTRY AND CRIME

• Poisons were used in ancient tribes and civilizations to hunt.
• Classic poisons are: arsenic, cyanide, and strychnine.
• Toxins can be derived from animals and plants.

HALLUCINATIONS AND TERROR IN SOUTHERN FRANCE

• A dispatch's headline was "3 Die, Many Stricken by Madness from Poison in Bread in France".
• 90 others were poisoned by the same bread.
• Many victims had hallucinations.

POTIONS, POISONS, AND "INHERITANCE POWDERS"

• The trial of the Marquise de Brinvillers was for poisoning her father and two brothers.
• The trial was a prelude to the affair of the poisons two years later.
• France developed a "poisoning urge" as a result of growing interest in chemicals.
• Chemical knowledge was spreading and along with it, hysteria.

CHEMISTRY AND CRIME

• Poisons were used in ancient tribes and civilizations to hunt
• Classic poisons are: arsenic, cyanide, and strychnine
• Toxins can be derived from plants and animals

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