Early Modern Naval Health Care in England, 1650-1750

Rezensionen / Stimmen

"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 "Based on formidable primary research, Early Modern Naval Health Care in England, is a wonderful interpretive essay on an important "back office" function of maritime history. Matthew Neufeld makes the compelling point that the provision of health care was an intricate part of the emergence of modernity, and that Britain's Royal Navy was a leading light in that regard." Keith Matthews Award jury "Neufeld focuses on care, which allows women to come to the forefront of a history usually dominated by men. I would recommend this book to specialist and general readers alike interested in British Naval Medicine." British Society for the History of Medicine "The book's greatest strength is in the way Neufeld provides a nuanced answer as to how England developed one of the world's most formidable navies. The wealth and financial innovations of the English empire ensured that the state could marshal the resources necessary to withstand expensive global wars, while simultaneously expanding its capacity for providing care. Moreover, ordinary people, mostly women, underpinned the health care system's survival in its early phases and helped shape its development into becoming more institutionalized by the mid-eighteenth century. ...[I]t is these women, just as much as kings, generals, and politicians, who should be looked at as contributors to the rise of the Royal Navy as a dominant military force worldwide." H-Net