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Book ID: CBB001422026

Disease, War, and the Imperial State: The Welfare of the British Armed Forces during the Seven Years' War (2014)

Charters, Erica (Author)

University of Chicago Press
Publication date: 2014
Language: English

ISBN: 9781322096988

Publication Date: 2014
Physical Details: 296 pp.; ill.; maps; bibl.; index

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Disease and diseases Imperialism Medicine and the military; medicine in war Smallpox Yellow fever Cross-cultural interaction; cultural influence International relations Colonialism 18th century North America West Indies Europe India Great Britain

The Seven Years' War, often called the first global war, spanned North America, the West Indies, Europe, and India. In these locations diseases such as scurvy, smallpox, and yellow fever killed far more than combat did, stretching the resources of European states. In Disease, War, and the Imperial State, Erica Charters demonstrates how disease played a vital role in shaping strategy and campaigning, British state policy, and imperial relations during the Seven Years' War. Military medicine was a crucial component of the British war effort; it was central to both eighteenth-century scientific innovation and the moral authority of the British state. Looking beyond the traditional focus of the British state as a fiscal war-making machine, Charters uncovers an imperial state conspicuously attending to the welfare of its armed forces, investing in medical research, and responding to local public opinion. Charters shows military medicine to be a credible scientific endeavor that was similarly responsive to local conditions and demands. Disease, War, and the Imperial State is an engaging study of early modern warfare and statecraft, one focused on the endless and laborious task of managing manpower in the face of virulent disease in the field, political opposition at home, and the clamor of public opinion in both Britain and its colonies.

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Reviewed By

Review Matthew Neufeld (2016) Review of "Disease, War, and the Imperial State: The Welfare of the British Armed Forces during the Seven Years' War". Social History of Medicine (pp. 180-181). unapi

Review John McAleer (2015) Review of "Disease, War, and the Imperial State: The Welfare of the British Armed Forces during the Seven Years' War". Canadian Journal of History (pp. 334-336). unapi

Review Michael Brown (2015) Review of "Disease, War, and the Imperial State: The Welfare of the British Armed Forces during the Seven Years' War". American Historical Review (pp. 1972-1973). unapi

Review Kopperman, Paul E. (2015) Review of "Disease, War, and the Imperial State: The Welfare of the British Armed Forces during the Seven Years' War". Bulletin of the History of Medicine (pp. 806-807). unapi

Review Kinkel, Sarah (2015) Review of "Disease, War, and the Imperial State: The Welfare of the British Armed Forces during the Seven Years' War". Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences (pp. 466-468). unapi

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