‘Salt meat […] is prejudicial to the health of the troops’: the battles between doctors and the British Empire over army diet in the nineteenth-century Caribbean

Nineteenth-century British and Caribbean sources show that European colonists were constantly struggling to maintain their health in a little-understood tropical climate; they engaged in frequent discussion and the exchange of advice on the preservation of their health. This article reveals that the...

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Main Author:	Ilaria Berti
Format:	Article
Language:	English
Published:	Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas 2020-12-01
Series:	Culture & History Digital Journal
Subjects:	colonial and imperial history food history soldiers physicians nutrition preserved and fresh ingredients tropical climates
Online Access:	http://cultureandhistory.revistas.csic.es/index.php/cultureandhistory/article/view/193

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spelling	doaj-9a9af965ea604e61a91b121e583646f12021-05-05T08:31:27ZengConsejo Superior de Investigaciones CientíficasCulture & History Digital Journal2253-797X2020-12-0192e019e01910.3989/chdj.2020.019191‘Salt meat […] is prejudicial to the health of the troops’: the battles between doctors and the British Empire over army diet in the nineteenth-century CaribbeanIlaria Berti0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1501-4937Università degli Studi di FirenzeNineteenth-century British and Caribbean sources show that European colonists were constantly struggling to maintain their health in a little-understood tropical climate; they engaged in frequent discussion and the exchange of advice on the preservation of their health. This article reveals that the maintenance of a specific group of temporary migrants, those in the armed forces, was a significant concern for the British authorities. It analyses medical reports and information in the contemporary press, which illustrate how heightened concerns about preservation of the army’s health led to an alternation between two different diets, one based on preserved food imported from the British homeland and the other on fresh local food.http://cultureandhistory.revistas.csic.es/index.php/cultureandhistory/article/view/193colonial and imperial historyfood historysoldiersphysiciansnutritionpreserved and fresh ingredientstropical climates
collection	DOAJ
language	English
format	Article
sources	DOAJ
author	Ilaria Berti
spellingShingle	Ilaria Berti ‘Salt meat […] is prejudicial to the health of the troops’: the battles between doctors and the British Empire over army diet in the nineteenth-century Caribbean Culture & History Digital Journal colonial and imperial history food history soldiers physicians nutrition preserved and fresh ingredients tropical climates
author_facet	Ilaria Berti
author_sort	Ilaria Berti
title	‘Salt meat […] is prejudicial to the health of the troops’: the battles between doctors and the British Empire over army diet in the nineteenth-century Caribbean
title_short	‘Salt meat […] is prejudicial to the health of the troops’: the battles between doctors and the British Empire over army diet in the nineteenth-century Caribbean
title_full	‘Salt meat […] is prejudicial to the health of the troops’: the battles between doctors and the British Empire over army diet in the nineteenth-century Caribbean
title_fullStr	‘Salt meat […] is prejudicial to the health of the troops’: the battles between doctors and the British Empire over army diet in the nineteenth-century Caribbean
title_full_unstemmed	‘Salt meat […] is prejudicial to the health of the troops’: the battles between doctors and the British Empire over army diet in the nineteenth-century Caribbean
title_sort	‘salt meat […] is prejudicial to the health of the troops’: the battles between doctors and the british empire over army diet in the nineteenth-century caribbean
publisher	Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas
series	Culture & History Digital Journal
issn	2253-797X
publishDate	2020-12-01
description	Nineteenth-century British and Caribbean sources show that European colonists were constantly struggling to maintain their health in a little-understood tropical climate; they engaged in frequent discussion and the exchange of advice on the preservation of their health. This article reveals that the maintenance of a specific group of temporary migrants, those in the armed forces, was a significant concern for the British authorities. It analyses medical reports and information in the contemporary press, which illustrate how heightened concerns about preservation of the army’s health led to an alternation between two different diets, one based on preserved food imported from the British homeland and the other on fresh local food.
topic	colonial and imperial history food history soldiers physicians nutrition preserved and fresh ingredients tropical climates
url	http://cultureandhistory.revistas.csic.es/index.php/cultureandhistory/article/view/193
work_keys_str_mv	AT ilariaberti saltmeatisprejudicialtothehealthofthetroopsthebattlesbetweendoctorsandthebritishempireoverarmydietinthenineteenthcenturycaribbean
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‘Salt meat […] is prejudicial to the health of the troops’: the battles between doctors and the British Empire over army diet in the nineteenth-century Caribbean

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