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History Maritime History & Piracy

Early Modern Naval Health Care in England, 1650–1750

by (author) Matthew Neufeld

Publisher
McGill-Queen's University Press
Initial publish date
Jul 2024
Category
Maritime History & Piracy, Stuart Era (1603-1714), History, Georgian Era (1714-1837)
  • eBook

    ISBN
    9780228020615
    Publish Date
    Jul 2024
    List Price
    $39.95

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Description

From 1650 to 1750 the provision of medical care for injured seamen in the Royal Navy underwent a major transformation, shifting from care provided by civilians in private homes to care at hospitals run by the navy. Early Modern Naval Health Care in England examines the factors responsible for the emergence of centralized naval health care over the course of a century.

In 1650 sick and injured Royal Navy sailors were billeted in homes in coastal communities where civilians were paid to look after them. Care work, which involved making meals and feeding patients, administering medicines, washing clothes and bed linens, and shaving and cutting hair, was essential to the recovery of tens of thousands of seamen – and it was done mostly by women. Beginning at the turn of the eighteenth century, naval health care moved to a more centralized system based in hospitals, where the conduct of sailors and care workers could be overseen. A key factor driving this change was the relationships between naval officials and female civilian caregivers, which were often fraught. Yet even with the shift to naval hospital settings, most care for convalescing sailors continued to be provided by women.

Early Modern Naval Health Care in England shines a light on the care work that lay behind England’s formidable Royal Navy during the Age of Sail.

About the author

Matthew Neufeld is associate professor of history at the University of Saskatchewan.

Matthew Neufeld's profile page

Editorial Reviews

"This is an impressive and thoughtful history of naval health care in early modern England, built on careful archival research that uncovers a wealth of detail and historical evidence for a key period in English and naval history. Neufeld’s revisionist approach argues for a focus on care, which allows women to come to the forefront of histories usually dominated by men while also allowing for historical sensibility in understanding medicine." Erica Charters, University of Oxford and author of Disease, War, and the Imperial State: The Welfare of the British Armed Forces during the Seven Years' War

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