For those in peril on and off the sea: Merchant marine bodies in nineteenth-century St. John’s, Newfoundland

Abstract

Nineteenth-century admission records to the St. John’s General Hospital have recently been made available for analysis. Records are extant from 17 May 1886 to 30 December 1899, and of the 5,995 admissions during this period, it was possible to identify 294 unique male merchant seafarers. Individuals were most frequently admitted due to traumatic conditions, respiratory diseases, and sexually transmitted infections, results which resonate with previous historical studies of seafaring health. Cross-referencing individual seafarer’s hospital admissions with crew list agreements from the Registrar General for Shipping and Seamen allowed for an examination of time spent in port before hospital admission, which provides a unique contribution to the historical literature on the health of the maritime workforce. This research sheds light upon the healthcare experience of merchant seafarers in the key port city of St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, emphasizing the value of hospital records in broader studies of occupational risks and hygiene.