Naval Medicine from the Quarterdeck in the Age of Sail

Abstract

To what extent did concern for men's health shape naval officers' decision-making in the West Indies in the age of sail? This essay draws on the papers and correspondence of Admiral Sir John Thomas Duckworth (1748-1817) to establish a hierarchy of decision-making priorities. The existing historiography suggests that an older generation of officers prioritized glory-seeking behavior over all else, while other historians have posited that men's health took priority. This essay shows that, in the case of Duckworth, mission always came first, even at the cost to men's health, and glory-seeking came third.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
May 31, 2023
Accession Number
AD1202903

Entities

People

  • David Rothwell

Organizations

  • Naval War College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical
  • Ground and Sea Platforms

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Demographic Cohorts
  • Disease Outbreaks
  • Diseases
  • Health
  • Health Services
  • Hierarchies
  • Hospitals
  • Islands
  • Men'S Health
  • Military Medicine
  • Navy
  • Physicians
  • Squadrons
  • Tropical Diseases
  • Universities
  • War
  • West Indies

Fields of Study

  • History

Readers

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