The Royal Navy and Disease in the Straits of Malacca, 1794–1815

Abstract

The article explores the British Royal Navy’s encounter with disease in the Straits of Malacca from 1794 to 1815. Naval patrols normally protected vessels visiting the entrepôt cities of Penang and Malacca from piracy and privateering, and the Napoleonic Wars in Europe raised fears of a potential threat posed by French and Dutch warships. Naval vessels carried out repairs and purchased provisions in the ports, sharing facilities with the British East India Company. Their crews needed access to medical care to treat a variety of diseases, some endemic on the ships and others, such as malaria, contracted on land, and Penang provided some hospital care. Illness caused attrition among seamen on board Royal Naval vessels, and finding replacements locally was impossible. The Straits of Malacca was healthier than Bengal and Batavia but owing to poor hygiene and a lack of understanding of the aetiology of tropical diseases, death rates remained high.