Scurvy and Canadian Exploration

Houston, Stuart

doi:10.3138/cbmh.7.2.161

Cited by 9 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 1 publication

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“…In the same commander's 1829 expedition, his men were ‘fresh and good humoured’ after three winters on the ice (Neatby, : 72), and only one man died of scurvy during the whole four‐year voyage (Cookman, : 222). In Parry's 1821 Arctic expedition, slight symptoms of scurvy were reported after 27 months but no‐one succumbed (Houston, ). In 1854, the crew of Collinson's Enterprise emerged from three winters in the Arctic in excellent health (Neatby, : 225).…”

Section: Scurvy and The Franklin Expeditionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…That men could be kept healthy on prolonged naval voyages under polar conditions is illustrated by contemporary accounts. John Ross's 1818 Arctic expedition spent four winters on the ice without suffering scurvy (Houston, ). In the same commander's 1829 expedition, his men were ‘fresh and good humoured’ after three winters on the ice (Neatby, : 72), and only one man died of scurvy during the whole four‐year voyage (Cookman, : 222).…”

Section: Scurvy and The Franklin Expeditionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Scurvy as a factor in the loss of the 1845 Franklin expedition to the Arctic: a reconsideration

Mays

Maat

Boer

2013

Int. J. Osteoarchaeol.

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In 1845, an expedition, commanded by Sir John Franklin, set out to discover the Northwest Passage. The ships entered the Canadian Arctic, and from September 1846 were beset in ice off King William Island. A note left by the expedition in May 1847 reported all was well, but by April 1848, 24 of the 129 men had died. The ice-locked ships were deserted in April 1848, but the 105 survivors were so weakened that all perished before they could reach safety. The causes of the morbidity and mortality aboard the ships have long been debated, and many commentators have argued that scurvy was an important factor. This study evaluates the historical evidence for the likely effectiveness of anti-scorbutic precautions taken on polar voyages at that time, and investigates whether the skeletal remains associated with the expedition provide evidence for scurvy. Skeletal remains available for study were carefully examined for pathological changes, and lesions potentially consistent with scurvy were subject to histological analysis. Where remains were no longer accessible, use was made of published osteological work. It is argued that the anti-scorbutic measures customarily taken on mid 19 th century British naval polar voyages were such that there is no a priori reason to suppose that scurvy should have been a problem prior to the desertion of the ships. The analysis of the skeletal evidence provided little in the way of bony lesions consistent with the disease, and cannot therefore be used to support the presence of scurvy. Factors other than scurvy may been the main causes of morbidity and mortality in the 11 months prior to the desertion of the ships.

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Section: Scurvy and The Franklin Expeditionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Scurvy and The Franklin Expeditionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Scurvy as a factor in the loss of the 1845 Franklin expedition to the Arctic: a reconsideration

Mays

Maat

Boer

2013

Int. J. Osteoarchaeol.

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“…The surgeon noted that the crew benefited in the early part of the mission from mild Arctic weather and light work, and from success in hunting to supplement their provisions. However, they suffered similar illnesses to the other ships and certainly did not escape scurvy so that Houston's (1990: 165) assertion that the crew did not suffer scurvy at all is clearly completely incorrect. Whilst Enterprise completed its mission in fair health, the fortunes of the Investigator were very different.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The health of nine Royal Naval Arctic crews, 1848 to 1854: implications for the lost Franklin Expedition

Millar¹,

Bowman

Battersby

et al. 2016

Polar Record

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ABSTRACT. Medical factors including tuberculosis, scurvy, lead poisoning and botulism have been proposed to explain the high death rate prior to desertion of the ships on Sir John Franklin's expedition of 1845-1848 but their role remains unclear because the surgeons' Sick books which recorded illness on board have eluded discovery. In their absence, this study examines the Sick books of Royal Naval search squadrons sent in search of Franklin, and which encountered similar conditions to his ships, to consider whether their morbidity and mortality might reflect that of the missing expedition. The Sick books of HMS Assistance, Enterprise, Intrepid, Investigator, Pioneer and Resolute yielded 1,480 cases that were coded for statistical analysis. On the basis of the squadrons' patterns of illness it was concluded that Franklin's crews would have suffered common respiratory and gastro-intestinal disorders, injuries and exposure and that deaths might have occurred from respiratory, cardiovascular and tubercular conditions. Scurvy occurred commonly and it was shown that the method of preparing 'antiscorbutic' lemon juice for the search squadrons and Franklin's ships would have reduced its capacity to prevent the disease but there were no grounds to conclude that scurvy was significant at the time of deserting the ships. There was no clear evidence of lead poisoning despite the relatively high level of lead exposure that was inevitable on ships at that time. There was no significant difference between the deaths of non-officer ranks on Franklin's ships and several of the search ships. The greater number of deaths of Franklin's officers was proposed to be more probably a result of non-medical factors such as accidents and injuries sustained while hunting and during exploration.

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“…24 Unfortunately, Cartier is not very clear on what type of tree the natives recommended, leaving historians to debate over various types of spruce, pine, and cedar trees native to Canada. 25 According to Canadian legend, the Amerindians showed Cartier how to brew spruce beer, therefore originating and legitimating that country's love of beer. Today, spruce beer is still sold in parts of Canada, and can be bought at supermarkets in Quebec.…”

Section: Scurvy In the North American Theatrementioning

confidence: 99%

Disease, Wilderness Warfare, and Imperial Relations: The Battle for Quebec, 1759—1760

Charters¹

2009

War in History

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During the siege at Quebec, 1759—60, which followed the battle on the Plains of Abraham, high rates of disease contributed to the British defeat by French forces in April 1760. While historians have not previously discussed military medical preventative measures, a detailed examination of the siege demonstrates sophisticated attempts to adapt to a foreign environment and its disease, as well as how disease contributed to the development of American provincial and British antagonism and perceptions of difference.

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Scurvy and Canadian Exploration

Cited by 9 publications

References 1 publication

Scurvy as a factor in the loss of the 1845 Franklin expedition to the Arctic: a reconsideration

Scurvy as a factor in the loss of the 1845 Franklin expedition to the Arctic: a reconsideration

The health of nine Royal Naval Arctic crews, 1848 to 1854: implications for the lost Franklin Expedition

Disease, Wilderness Warfare, and Imperial Relations: The Battle for Quebec, 1759—1760

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