Crafting British Medicine in the Empire: The Establishment of Medical Schools in India and Canada, 1763–1837

Type of resource
Author/collaborator
Title
Crafting British Medicine in the Empire: The Establishment of Medical Schools in India and Canada, 1763–1837
Abstract
The author notes that in the early nineteenth century, medical schools became a growing means of regulating medicine in the British Empire, both in the metropole and in two colonies: India and Canada. By examining the establishment of medical schools in Calcutta, Bombay, Madras, Quebec City, Montreal and Toronto between the end of the Seven Years’ War and the beginning of the Victorian era, the author argues that the rise of the British Empire was a key factor in the gradual replacement of private medical apprenticeships with institutional medical education. The author concludes that although the imperial state did not implement a uniform medical policy across the British Empire, the medical schools established under its jurisdiction were instrumental in devising a curriculum that emphasised human dissection, bedside training in hospitals and organic chemistry as criteria of medical competence.
Publication
Medical History: An International Journal for the History of Medicine and Related Sciences
Volume
Vol. 68
Issue
Special Issue 2
Pages
128-145
Date
2024
Language
en
URL
Citation
Robert, Martin. “Crafting British Medicine in the Empire: The Establishment of Medical Schools in India and Canada, 1763–1837.” Medical History: An International Journal for the History of Medicine and Related Sciences Vol. 68, no. Special Issue 2 (2024): 128–145. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11458336/.
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