Boatswains from Nagu
Boatswains from Nagu were included in the Boatswains Company of Åland and Southern Finland. Several men from Åboland and especially Nagu, were stationed at Sveaborg along with the Finnish squadron. Among these were Petter Melander from Mielis, Matts Hollender from Blanckas and Elias Hafra from Haverö. Sveaborg was perceived as a safe posting, but fate turned in July 1788 when the Swedes conquered the Russian ship Vladislav in the naval battle at Hogland and took it as price to Sveaborg. The crew of the conquered ship was infected by a fatal illness, the relapse fever. The disease spread quickly to the Swedish crew who took over the ship and made it´s way Sveaborg and on to Karlskrona to where the ship was later taken.
The disease was an bacterial infection, spread by the common louse which was common among soldiers and boatswains during the 18th century. People of that time never suspected that the louse carried the fatal disease and were thus unable to prevent the epidemic.
Boatswains widow
Within the naval base of Sveaborg one boatswain after the other fell victim to the disease. Soon piles of corpses were strewn all around the base. The disease was treacherous, a patient would run a high fever and suddenly the temperature would drop for a day or two and the patient felt almost healthy. The fever would, however, return with renewed force after a few days. There was no cure, and about half of the infected died. The boatswain Petter Melander succumbed to the epidemic in 1790. His widow Maria Nilsdotter, was former servant maid at Finby Grannas, and was distressed when she received the news. She had become alone with four children, in addition she had to leave the boatswains cottage because Petter was dead and the villagers would have to replace him with a successor. The following year in December, Maria managed to marry the new boatswain Simon Gustafsson and remain at the cottage. In April, she gave birth to her fifth child, Carl Gustav. Maria had apparently been pregnant already in August, several months before the marriage with Simon.
Tragedy
The fatal relaps fever epidemic reached Nagu. It was most likely carried by soldiers returning home from the war aboard navy vessels. In November 1788 First mate Mats Jonsson from Hangslax and the reserve dragoon Carl Qvifstett from Kvivlax became the first recorded fatalities of the decease in Nagu. The epidemic raged on until October 1791 and caused nearly 70 confirmed deaths. In 1794 the relapse fever was followed by an small pox epidemic, killing 30 children.
