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We now know them as boards of health.
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And these magistrates, or boards of health
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as they came to be known later and are still known,
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were endowed with extraordinary powers during emergencies
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that gave them-- they combined in their hands
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a plentitude of legislative, judicial and executive authority
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in matters that related to public health.
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By the late sixteenth century,
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cities in the vanguard of the movement
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even had permanent health magistrates,
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and their example was followed across Europe.
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That was one thing, a new authority then.