Quinine, Whisky, and Epsom Salts: Amateur Medical Treatment in the White Settler Communities of British East and South-Central Africa, 1890–1939

Abstract

Summary Between 1890 and 1939, many migrants settled in rural areas in Britain’s newly occupied territories in East and South-Central Africa. A number of these settlers produced memoirs about their lives in colonial Africa, many of which contain rich domestic detail, including about health and home medical treatment. This paper examines a selection of memoirs by women who lived in rural British East and South-Central Africa. First, it explores the literary presentation of disease, injury and home treatment in these memoirs, arguing that anecdotes about health played powerful and complex roles. Secondly, it illustrates that most authors regularly treated injuries and illnesses for themselves and their families, making home treatment an important part of their health care. Lastly, it highlights that these memoirs reveal a distinctive set of medicines and techniques used for amateur medical treatment. Overall, this paper positions amateur medical practice as an essential element of health care in the region.