https://dralun.wordpress.com/2023/02/17/the-health-risks-of-travel-in-early-modern-britain/ Skip to content Dr Alun Withey Welcome to my blog! I am an academic historian of medicine and the body, and 2014 AHRC/BBC 'New Generation Thinker'. Please enjoy and let me know what you think. Menu * Home * About * Links * My books * The Dr Alun Podcast! * TV/Radio/Media Appearances The Health Risks of Travel in Early-Modern Britain February 17, 2023 ~ Dr Alun Withey As I start to make some progress on my new research project on travel, health and risk I am turning my attention to the sorts of things that early modern travellers were fearful of. As a bit of a nervous traveller myself, it's quite comforting to know that there is actually a long history of travel-related anxiety. From the early modern period, domestic and international travel were beginning to increase due to many factors including commercial expansion and the Atlantic economy, religion and mission work, military and diplomacy, as well as technological developments and the growth of travel infrastructure. For the first time in history, large numbers of travellers were beginning to explore both their own countries and wider world, encountering new countries, environments, and peoples. Unlike today, when it's entirely possible to have breakfast in London, lunch in Milan and be back at home in time for supper, travel in the early modern period was no easy undertaking. More than this, it was widely acknowledged to be inherently dangerous. What, then, were the perceived risks? Even a brief survey tells us a lot about how travel was regarded in health terms. [screenshot-2023-02-17-at-10](Image from Wikimedia Commons) First was the risk of accident or death on the journey. In the seventeenth century even relatively short distances on horseback or in a carriage carried dangers. Falls from horses were common, causing injury or even death. As Roy Porter noted, when the wife of Justinian Paget was thrown from her horse in October 1638, it was said to be the 'cause of all her future sickness'. In Monmouthshire in 1657, one Francis Bradford was killed as his horse bolted, throwing him over its neck with his feet caught in the stirrups. 'His wyfe was with hym and she presentlie alighted from her horse and cryed for helpe'. Many drownings occurred as people tried to cross rivers on horseback and fell in or were swept away. [screenshot-2023-02-17-at-10]JMW Turner 'The Shipwreck' - Image from Wikimedia Commons Travel by sea, even around local coasts, carried its own obvious risks of storm and wreck. So common and widely acknowledged were the vagaries of sea travel that a common reason for making a will in the early modern period was just before embarking on a voyage. The language used in these formulations is telling. In 1638, Edward Harthorpe, Richard Veesey, Michael March and Thomas Huckleton, 'with divers others', made their will, 'being bound to take a voyage to Canady (sic) in America, w(hi)ch being a daingerous voyage, and they putting theire lives to hazard therein, did consider their mortalitie'. This was a common theme, and the prospect of the impending journey, and the not-unreasonable assumption that they might not return, led many to consider putting their affairs in order. This anxiety was neatly articulated by Thomas Youngs in 1663, 'Being bound upon a voyage to sea, and calling to remembrance the uncertain state of this transitory life, and that all fleshe must yielde undo death...'. One intent on the journey, travellers wanted to be prepared in body and soul. [screenshot-2023-02-17-at-10]Image from Wikimedia Commons Once abroad, too travellers were at the mercy of a bevy of dangers, from unfamiliar territories and extreme landscapes to harsh weather and climate, their safety contingent on the quality of their transport and the reliability of their guides. In 1793 Useful Instructions for Travellers contained chapters advising travellers as to how to deal with the many and various dangers to life and health that they might face. These included the necessity to frequently open carriage windows to refresh the air, the need to take a small medicine chest to attend to wounds (including falls from horseback), and various preparations to treat the haemorrhoids that often accompanied long periods in a sitting position. Knowledge of the conditions, climates and environments of intended destinations was also key. Ideally, a traveller should be able to 'cure himself of some distempers', be wary of the change of air and the hazards of the journey, and to take their own store of medicines in case they were hard to procure once abroad. But some even considered the whole process of travel itself to be potentially harmful to the body. Even in the sixteenth century, 'The Hospitall for the Diseased, wherein are to bee founde moste excellent and approued medicines' included a list of things considered bad for the heart. As well as what the author viewed as deadly vegetables such as beans, peas and leeks, further heart problems might be caused by 'too much travell', or even 'drink[ing] cold water after travell'. Similarly, in a section about things that are 'ill for the brain, A.T.'s 1596 A.T., A rich store-house or treasury for the diseased noted "Overmuch heate in Trauaylinge". [screenshot-2023-02-17-at-10] Scurvy was another condition firmly linked to travel. In 1609, Petrus Pomarius', Enchiridion medicum viewed scurvy as an occupational hazard for 'those that trauell by sea, by long voyages; and our fishers that travel to the Newfound-lands'. As well as the perils of the long journey, the problems could arise due to the 'stincking waters, & especially in an hot aire' that travellers were exposed to. Climate - and particularly heat - was considered risky. In the 1793 Etmullerus abridg'd: or, a compleat system of the theory and practice of physic, Michael Etmuller stated that travelling in a hot climate could cause wakefulness and perturbation of the mind. Even 'foreign' food and drink could be risky. Thomas Tryon's Miscellania (1696) noted the dangers of 'intemperance' and of misjudging the effects of climate upon the body in regard to drinking alchohol. According to Tryon, many English travellers were 'much Distemper'd, and many die when they Travel into the West and East Indies, because they take wrong measures, continuing the same disorder and intemperance as they did in their own Country'. Travel, then, was a risky business, and one that individuals would not have undertaken lightly. There were a range of factors to consider, from basic risks of life and death to the dangers of particular conditions and climates, food and illness. Share this: * Tweet * * [pinit_fg_e] * More * * * Reddit * Like this: Like Loading... Related Posted in 17th century, 18th century, Death, Doctors, Drowned, Dying, Georgian, Grand Tour, History, History of Medicine, History of science, Medical History, Medical practitioner, medical remedies, medicine, Practitioners, Remedy collections, Risk, Travel, Travellers 17th Century18th centuryAlun WitheyHistory of Travelmedical marketplaceRiskTravelTravel AdviceTravel AnxietyTravellers Post navigation < Previous Packing the Essentials!: Preparing to Travel in the 18th Century. Next > Medicine on the Move: Early Modern Travel and Remedies One thought on "The Health Risks of Travel in Early-Modern Britain" 1. [8e7ce5e] gordon759 says: February 17, 2023 at 4:34 pm I like the tale of the unfortunate young lady who died on an East Indiaman from 'injudiciously eating a pineapple'. Reply Leave a Reply Cancel reply Enter your comment here... [ ] Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: * * * Gravatar Email (required) (Address never made public) [ ] Name (required) [ ] Website [ ] WordPress.com Logo You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. ( Log Out / Change ) Facebook photo You are commenting using your Facebook account. ( Log Out / Change ) Cancel Connecting to %s [ ] Notify me of new comments via email. [ ] Notify me of new posts via email. [Post Comment] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] D[ ] Search for: [ ] [Search] Recent Posts * Medicine on the Move: Early Modern Travel and Remedies * The Health Risks of Travel in Early-Modern Britain * Packing the Essentials!: Preparing to Travel in the 18th Century. * Are Beards Over? A Historical Perspective. * Health and the Habitual Traveller in the 19th Century Archives * September 2023 * February 2023 * June 2022 * April 2022 * November 2021 * May 2021 * April 2021 * March 2021 * February 2021 * January 2021 * July 2020 * May 2020 * April 2020 * March 2020 * February 2020 * October 2019 * June 2019 * May 2019 * March 2019 * January 2019 * October 2018 * September 2018 * June 2018 * May 2018 * March 2018 * January 2018 * November 2017 * October 2017 * September 2017 * August 2017 * June 2017 * May 2017 * April 2017 * March 2017 * February 2017 * January 2017 * November 2016 * October 2016 * September 2016 * August 2016 * July 2016 * June 2016 * May 2016 * April 2016 * March 2016 * February 2016 * January 2016 * December 2015 * November 2015 * October 2015 * September 2015 * July 2015 * May 2015 * April 2015 * March 2015 * January 2015 * December 2014 * November 2014 * October 2014 * September 2014 * July 2014 * June 2014 * May 2014 * April 2014 * March 2014 * February 2014 * January 2014 * December 2013 * November 2013 * October 2013 * September 2013 * August 2013 * July 2013 * June 2013 * May 2013 * April 2013 * March 2013 * February 2013 * January 2013 * December 2012 * November 2012 * October 2012 * September 2012 * August 2012 * July 2012 * June 2012 * May 2012 * April 2012 * March 2012 * February 2012 Categories * 14th century * 15th century * 17th century * 18th century * 19th * 19th century * Advertising * Advice literature * Aftershave * Alexander Ross * Alun Withey * American Colonies * Anatomy * Apothecary * Apprentices * Apprenticeships * Are beards finished? * Are Beards Over? * Automata * Automatons * Bad Death * Bamburgh Castle * Barber * Barber's Pole * Barber-surgeon * Barbers * Barbershops * BBC * Beard * Beard Movement * Beard Trend * Beards * Bears Grease * Bloodletting * Book history * Care * Cast steel * Chester * Clodagh Tait * Collectors * Colonia America * Concerning Beards * Conduct Books * Consumption * Coronavirus * Cosmetics * Court * Covid-19 * Crime * Cunning folk * Cutthroat razor * Death * Death Customs * Deathbed * Decembeard * deformity * Dentistry * Detox * Detoxing * Devices * Dictionaries * disability * Disguise * Dispute * Dissection * Doctors * Domestic Medicine * Don Saltero * Drowned * Dyes * Dying * early modern Ireland * early modern wales * Electrical Machine * Enlightenment * epidemics * Exercise * Exhibition * Facial Hair * Faith healing * False Beards * Family History * Fashioning * First World War * Florence Nightingale Museum * Folk medicine * Folklore * Gender * Georgian * Gilds * Good Death * Grand Tour * Great War * Hands * History * History of Medicine * History of science * Hosiery * Hospitals * Hydrophobia * Illness * impairment * Ireland * John Sharp * Language * Leeches * Legal History * Libel * Lockdown beards * Marginalia * Marmalade * Masculinity * Material Culture * Medical advertisements * Medical History * Medical Marketplace * Medical practitioner * medical remedies * medicine * Medieval Ireland * Men * Minister * Moustaches * Movember * Museums * Narratives * New Generation Thinkers * NHS * NHS Bill * norovirus * old age * Old Bailey * Optician * overcrowding * Paddington Bear * Pall Mall Barbers * Parish registers * Patents * Patients * Peasants revolt * Pennsylvania * Perfume * Perfumer * Perfumery * Personal Grooming * Physick and the Family * Pigeon Cure * plague * Pogonophilia * Pogonotomy * Poison * Police * Politeness * Popular mythology * Posture * Practitioners * Prosopography * Public science * Quacks * Quakers * Quarantine * Quarantine beards * Rabies * Razors * Recipe books * Religion * Remedy collections * Risk * Science * Scurvy * Seance * seasickness * Servants * Shaving * Shaving Soap * Shaving the dead * Shopping * Sick role * Sickness * Sickness Experience * Slang * Snuff * soap * Spectacles * Steel * Surgery * Surgical instruments * Swearing * Technologies of the body * Teeth * The Body * Thomas Ribright * Thomas Wynne * Tobacco * Tooth-drawer * Travel * Travellers * Trenches * Twitter * Typhoid * Uncategorized * University of Exeter * USA * Victorian * Wellcome Trust * Welsh history * Welsh medicine * Whiskers * Wigs Tweets from yours truly Tweets by DrAlun Meta * Register * Log in * Entries feed * Comments feed * WordPress.com [freshly-pressed-circ] Blog at WordPress.com. * Follow Following + [0a30d7] Dr Alun Withey Join 1,045 other followers [ ] Sign me up + Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now. * + [0a30d7] Dr Alun Withey + Customize + Follow Following + Sign up + Log in + Copy shortlink + Report this content + View post in Reader + Manage subscriptions + Collapse this bar Loading Comments... Write a Comment... [ ] Email (Required) [ ] Name (Required) [ ] Website [ ] [Post Comment] %d bloggers like this: [b]