Speaker: Manon C Williams

The pressures of sustained warfare during the French Wars (1793–1815) led to a recruitment crisis of competent medical professionals in the Navy. This triggered reforms within the naval medical bureaucracy to elevate the status, pay, and entry qualifications of naval surgeons. Simultaneously, this cohort of medical men began to redefine their own professional identities within the naval medical bureaucracy.

In this seminar, Dr Manon C Williams explores the previously unacknowledged role of naval surgeons in proactively lobbying for these reforms through collective bargaining.

About the speaker

Dr Manon C Williams is a Pearsall Fellow in Naval and Maritime History at the Institute for Historical Research, School of Advanced Studies, University of London. Her PhD thesis, which was awarded the 2024 British Commission for Maritime History’s Boydell & Brewer Doctoral Prize, explored the professional identities of naval surgeons during the French Wars.

This event is open to the public and free to attend both in-person and online (via Zoom). In-person spaces are limited, so register now to secure your spot!