The medical profession and representations of the Navy, 1750-1815

This chapter focuses on the interrelationship between naval medicine and broader society, discussing medical representations of the Navy in the late-eighteenth century, and arguing that naval medicine was a matter of keen debate, perceived as important for the country. Navy servicemen were represented in contradictory ways: as a tool of empire, heroes deserving care for their service to their country, and a source of contagion and ill discipline in need of paternal attention from officers and medics.