The grisly findings at the port of Dover recently recall to mind some similar examples of man's indefensible inhumanity to man throughout the centuries. They also serve as strong reminders of what one commentator has referred to as "the bondage of mankind to the air from which it takes its vis vitalis. "
Four major changes can be identified as taking place in the air of a confined space as a result of human occupancy. Two of these are obvious: by their collective breathing those incarcerated reduce the oxygen content of the air, and increase the proportion of carbon dioxide it contains.
In addition, body heat from the assembled humans increases the temperature of the environment, and the moisture of their exhalations brings about a rise in its humidity.
It is common experience that the combination is uncomfortable; as we have seen, when taken to extremes, it may be lethal.
The classic example is the infamous Black Hole of Calcutta. According to a contemporary account: "On one of the hottest of the hot nights of that year, Sarij-Uddaula, a youthful merciless ruler of Bengal, caused to be confined within a small cell at Fort William, 146 Englishmen whom he had that day captured in a siege of the city of Calcutta.
"Within a few minutes after entrance every man was bathed in a wet perspiration and was searching for ways of escape from the stifling heat. As the steaming mass of human bodies vied for the insufficient air, breathing became difficult, and there were vain onslaughts on the windows and attempts to force the door. The night passed slowly, but with the advent of morning, death had come to all but a score of the luckless company in that airless dungeon in Calcutta."
These events occurred, coincidentally, on the night of June 20th, 1756 - 244 years, almost to the day, before the recent Zeebrugge-Dover incident.
A second example is much nearer home. In December 1848, the paddle steamer, Londonderry, left Sligo, bound for Liverpool, with a large complement of emigrating passengers accommodated in its hold.
As it passed the coast of Donegal, a violent storm blew up, the grilles on deck that effectively acted as ventilators for the hold were blown away, and to prevent water from entering the holds, the crew covered the openings with tarpaulin.
A Dover scene awaited those who removed the covers when the ship eventually took shelter in Lough Foyle. It was found that 72 men, women and children in the hold had suffocated - another grim illustration of the effect on humans of the lack of proper ventilation.
