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Updated: Jul 16, 2026
Principles of Rodent Surgery for the New Surgeon
Published on: January 6, 2011
George Spence: surgeon and servant of the Hudson's Bay Company, 1738-41
1Department of History, University of Ottawa, Canada.
Insights
This study examines George Spence's 1740-41 surgeon's journal from Fort Albany, revealing everyday medical practice and the challenges faced by early Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) surgeons. It highlights the surgeon's dual role as professional and employee in a pre-industrial setting.
Area of Science:
- Medical History
- Labour History
- Canadian History
Background:
- Analysis of George Spence's 1740-41 surgeon's journal from Fort Albany, British North America.
- Utilizes corroborating journals from another HBC servant and the post for context.
- Spence's journal is a rare surviving surgeon's record from the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) archives before 1846.
Discussion:
- Examines everyday medical practices within the fur trading post context.
- Considers the perspectives of both HBC employees and those receiving medical care.
- Analyzes the surgeon's complex position as both an autonomous professional and a company servant.
Key Insights:
- George Spence's practice offers insight into ordinary medical care, contrasting with heroic historical narratives.
- Highlights an earlier period of medical history than previously studied.
- Spence navigated personal and professional challenges, fulfilling his surgical duties but struggling with HBC servant expectations.
Outlook:
- Contributes to understanding pre-industrial medical history and labour relations.
- Informs the study of professionalization within historical contexts.
- Provides a unique lens on the intersection of medicine, commerce, and labour in early Canada.
Abstract:
At the beginning of his medical career, George Spence signed a contract with the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) as surgeon for the Fort Albany fur trading post located on James Bay in British North America. During his first three years (1738-41), Spence encountered formidable personal and professional challenges which can be partially reconstructed through examination of surgeon's journal for 1740-41. By unique good fortune, two other corroborating journals exist for Albany from the same year: the journal of another HBC servant and the regular post journal. Spence's is the only surgeon's journal in the HBC archives prior to 1846 and one of very few such journals from any period of the company's history. This paper examines everyday medical practice in one fur trading context from the perspective of HBC employees and the recipients of medical care. George Spence's significance lies partially in the ordinary nature of his practice in contrast to heroic historical accounts, and partially in his contribution toward knowledge of an earlier context in medical history than has been previously analyzed. I have drawn on concepts from labour and professionalization history to analyze the seemingly contradictory position of the surgeon as both an autonomous professional and a servant in relation to the HBC. While Spence successfully fulfilled his role as surgeon, he struggled to meet expectations as a servant of the company. His struggle was partially based on emerging professional ideologies, and partially based on changing labour relationships within a pre-industrial society.
