The establishment of Blaafarveværket's health service 1776-1814
When David Eberhardt Bradt, auditor of the Blaafarve mill, visited the newly built mill in 1781, he had the following to say about the health services at the site:
In addition to the facilities already established at Blaafarveverket, a medical measure seems highly necessary [...] for all injured persons, as those who are now injured at the plant cannot get any urgent help, but must be taken four miles to Kongsberg under the most miserable conditions, which makes the cure more costly for the plant's coffers and more unsafe for the sufferer than if he received urgent help on the spot.[1]
Based on this, we know that Blaafarveværket did not set up its own health service when it was established in 1776. Like the school system, the establishment of an occupational health service was not prioritised during the mill's start-up phase. Building up a complicated chemical plant from scratch required all resources, so health had to wait.
Today, we'll take a closer look at how Blaafarveværket got its own occupational health service.
Three-day journey for emergency first aid - Professor Peter Thorstenson in Kongsberg
Mining work is always associated with risk, and this was particularly the case with cobalt mining. Like all other mining operations, mining work was dangerous, but at Blaafarveværket, the concern was particularly linked to cabin operations. The workers who calcined/roasted the cobalt ore were exposed to a lot of smoke containing arsenic. Arsenic is a very potent poison where 1-3 mg is a lethal dose for an adult human.
When the company was just getting started, around 1779, the question of setting up a separate occupational health service was raised.[2] Initially, a form of emergency solution was introduced whereby the Silverworks' doctor, Professor Peter Thorstensen, was given a kind of temporary overall responsibility for the health of the Blaafarve Works.[3]
As we have seen in the quote in the introduction, the injured and sick workers at Blaafarveværket had to be sent to Kongsberg for help. Thorstensen was also responsible for a workforce that was far larger than that of the Blaafarve Works. In 1770, there were almost 4,000 employees at the silverworks, so the queue to Thorstensen may have been long when they first arrived.
As cottage production became fully operational in 1783, it became clearer to the management that Professor Thorstensen was too far away and that it was important to establish a local health service so that injured and sick factory workers could receive immediate help.
There was, however, one problem with employing a works doctor at the Blaafarveværket: it was expensive. Professor Thorstensen had an annual salary of 400 riksdaler, plus a salary supplement to buy stationery, pay a servant and cover travelling expenses.[4] The Blaafarve plant's management considered it too expensive to hire an equally qualified doctor to take care of the health of the plant's employees. The solution was a middle ground.
A doctor and a surgeon - Martini to the rescue
On the advice of Thorstensen himself, a local health service was established at Blaafarveværket from the beginning of 1784. Thorstensen was given overall responsibility for health care. If dangerous or epidemic diseases broke out, the professor had to go to the mill and get the situation under control, but a surgeon was to have day-to-day responsibility locally. Thorstensen himself would appoint the surgeon and pay his salary. The surgeon would receive an annual salary of 150 riksdaler, Thorstensen would receive 100 riksdaler annually for having overall responsibility and Thorstensen would receive 40 riksdaler annually in travelling expenses. In this way, the total cost of the Blaafarveværk's health service was 290 riksdaler annually, i.e. considerably less than the cost of health care at the Silverworks.[5]
Today, the surgical profession has a high status. A doctor must have 6 years of additional training to become a recognised surgeon.[6] This was not the case at the end of the 18th century. At that time, surgery was considered more of a craft - someone who could, for example, amputate limbs or treat external injuries - but when it came to treating complex illnesses and the like, it was the doctor who had to be called in.[7] The doctor had a far higher position in society than the surgeon.
Thorstensen was given the responsibility of employing and paying a qualified, skilled and knowledgeable surgeon. The professor was to be paid 290 riksdaler annually, of which 150 was to be paid to the surgeon. The choice fell on Johann Michael Martini, a surgeon who, according to the sources, did not have a degree.[8]
From 1784, the Blaafarve mill had its own surgeon.[9] Martini took up residence at Haugfoss in a house referred to as "the old Pig Building".[10] When Thorstensen died in 1792, Martini applied for permanent employment at the works, which was granted. Berghauptmann Brunnich and the officers of the blue colour works expressed that he was "highly recommended for diligence and skill, both in external and internal illnesses".[11] At the same time, it was also emphasised that since Martini hadn't graduated as a surgeon, they didn't need to pay him accordingly. The unqualified surgeon was therefore still only paid 150 riksdaler a year, but was also given free housing (in an upgraded and remodelled pigsty that was moved from Haugfoss to Gata in 1793).[12]
Very needy circumstances - The Martini family's further life at Blaafarveværket
The surgeon and his wife, Giertrud Nielsdatter, had many children. In 1801 there were 4 children in their house, 3 of whom lived at home.[13] According to Oberberghauptmand Brunnich, the family lived in "very needy circumstances" in 1804.[14] Martini was therefore granted an annual allowance of 10 barrels of firewood and 6 bismer pounds of tallow candles from the mill's coffers.[15] At a time when there was no electric light and all cooking, heating and washing needed wood for heating, a lot of money was spent on tallow candles and firewood. Getting some of this covered probably came in handy, but if 10 barges (1 barge equalled 2.22m3)[16] covered the family's annual need for firewood is uncertain. When Nils Hilsen, a teacher at Skuterudflaten school, applied for a pay rise in 1828, he claimed that his 10 fathoms (fathoms were the equivalent of battens)[17] was only enough for half a year's consumption.[18]
When military skirmishes occurred between Danish-Norwegian and Swedish troops along the Norwegian-Swedish border, Martini was called to duty as a field surgeon.[19] Apart from this, the Martini family stayed in Modum.
The later works doctors at the Blaafarve mill belonged to the mill's upper echelons. They usually earned relatively well and their children did not have to do heavy manual labour when they were still toddlers. As Martini never progressed far enough in terms of salary, due to the fact that he had no formal qualifications, his children had to start work at an early age. One of his sons, Ferdinand Martini, got a job at Blaafarveværket as a 13-year-old in 1796.[20] The working day that faced young Ferdinand must have been tough. 6 shifts a week (Monday to Saturday) from 05.00 to 17.00.[21]
Works surgeon Martini remained in his position until his death in spring 1813.[22] His wife outlived her husband by several years. Giertrud was granted a pension by Blaafarveværket and continued to live in the converted pigsty on Gata Square. In 1823, she received an annual pension of 15 spesidaler and 72 skilling.[23] In comparison, the material manager's widow received an annual pension of 28 spesidaler and 98 skilling. Even so, Giertrud was better off than most other widows, who earned between 5 and 6 spesidaler annually.[24] Surgeon Martini was the Blaafarveværket's first resident healthcare professional. In this respect, he initiated work that was continued by his descendants for over 100 years. The last works district and spa doctor, Hans Gabriel Sundt Dedichen, lived in Nymoen until the 1880s. Martini may have been uneducated, but he did many things that characterise his more educated successors. The surgeon immunised children in Modum as early as 1804, six years before the smallpox vaccine became compulsory in Norway.[25] In consultation with Brunnich, the superintendent, free medicine was introduced for permanent plant workers, as well as for wives and children living on the plant's property.[26] Not bad for someone who never completed a medical degree.
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Sources:
[1] Bradt, David Eberhard: "Kort beskrivelse over det Kongelige Modumske blaafarveverk i Buskeruds amt 1781". Utg. NTH-trykk. 1966. p. 37-38 see: https://www.nb.no/items/de366844ccb8060dd67b77ed4fc7aaf0?page=39&searchText=Blaafarveverk
[2] RA, Rentekammeret, Renteskriverkontorene, M/Mf/Mfa/L0005: Resolution protocol with register (labelled RK 54.5), 1783
Use link for page view: https://www.digitalarkivet.no/rk20120907611468
[3] Ibid.
[4] RA, Rentekammeret, Renteskriverkontorene, M/Mf/Mfb/L0001: Protocol of relations and resolutions with register (labelled RK 54.7), 1791-1792
Use link for page view: https://www.digitalarkivet.no/rk20120907612272
[5] RA, Rentekammeret, Renteskriverkontorene, M/Mf/Mfa/L0005: Resolution protocol with register (labelled RK 54.5), 1783
Use link for page view: https://www.digitalarkivet.no/rk20120907611471
[6] Schlichting, Ellen: kirurgi i Store medisinske leksikon på snl.no. Retrieved 11 January 2022 from https://sml.snl.no/kirurgi
[7] Skålevåg, Svein Atle: Medical history in Store medisinske leksikon på snl.no. Retrieved 11 January 2022 from https://sml.snl.no/medisinsk_historie
[8] RA, Rentekammeret, Renteskriverkontorene, M/Mf/Mfb/L0001: Protocol of relations and resolutions with register (labelled RK 54.7), 1791-1792
Use link for page view: https://www.digitalarkivet.no/rk20120907612274
[9] RA, Rentekammeret, Renteskriverkontorene, M/Mf/Mfb/L0002: Protocol of relations and resolutions with register (labelled RK 54.8), 1793-1795
Use link for page view: https://www.digitalarkivet.no/rk20120907620047
[10] RA, Rentekammeret, Renteskriverkontorene, M/Mf/Mfb/L0002: Protocol of relations and resolutions with register (labelled RK 54.8), 1793-1795
Use link for page view: https://www.digitalarkivet.no/rk20120907620049
[11] RA, Rentekammeret, Renteskriverkontorene, M/Mf/Mfb/L0001: Protocol of relations and resolutions with register (labelled RK 54.7), 1791-1792
Use link for page view: https://www.digitalarkivet.no/rk20120907612274
[12] Ibid.
[13] Census 1801/0623P Modum/census district: 001/bosted land: 0166 Pladsen Gata/pf01058274004527 see: https://www.digitalarkivet.no/census/person/pf01058274004527
[14] RA, Rentekammeret, Renteskriverkontorene, M/Mf/Mfb/L0006: Protocol of relations and resolutions with register (labelled RK 54.12), 1803-1804
Use link for page view: https://www.digitalarkivet.no/rk20120907631226
[15] RA, Rentekammeret, Renteskriverkontorene, M/Mf/Mfb/L0006: Protocol of relations and resolutions with register (labelled RK 54.12), 1803-1804
Use link for page view: https://www.digitalarkivet.no/rk20120907631227
[16] Holtebekk, Trygve; Hofstad, Knut: Barge in Store norske leksikon på snl.no. Retrieved 12 January 2022 from https://snl.no/lakter
[17] Holtebekk, Trygve; Hofstad, Knut: Barge in Store norske leksikon på snl.no. Retrieved 12 January 2022 from https://snl.no/lakter
[18] RA/PA-0157/G/Gg/L0371/0002 - "Respectful application!" - Nils Hilsen, 26 April 1828
[19] Kiær, F.C.: "Norges Læger i det nittende Aarhundrede". Published by Alb. Cammermeyer. 1890. s. 86
[20] RA, Rentekammeret, Renteskriverkontorene, M/Mf/Mfb/L0003: Protocol of relations and resolutions with register (labelled RK 54.9), 1796-1798
Use link for page view: https://www.digitalarkivet.no/rk20120907620744
[21] Ibid.
[22] Kiær. Op.cit. p. 86
[23] RA, Modums Blaafarveværk, G/Gb/L0068: -, 0001: Copy book, kept at the bookkeeper's office, 1822-1824, p. 52
Use link for page view: https://www.digitalarkivet.no/db20120821620052
[24] Ibid.
[25] See previous posts: https://blaa.no/vaksinasjon-pa-blaafarvevaerket/
[26] RA, Rentekammeret, Renteskriverkontorene, M/Mf/Mfb/L0010: Protocol of relations and resolutions with register (labelled RK 54.16), 1811-1812
Use link for page view: https://www.digitalarkivet.no/rk20120907641019