CentreForMedicalHumanities.org

Reviewer needed: ‘Medicine and Empire: 1600-1960’ by Pratik Chakrabarti

posted on

Disclosure: This article may contain affiliate links. If you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a commission at no additional cost to you. All opinions remain our own.

By CentreForMedicalHumanities.org Research Team | Last verified: September 2026

Medical Disclaimer: This content is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare provider before starting any supplement, medication, or treatment program. Individual results may vary.

Research Summary: Medicine and Empire: 1600-1960

Category: Academic Book Review Solicitation — Medical Humanities
Author: Pratik Chakrabarti
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan (2013)
Scope: Three-century history of medicine intertwined with British, French, and Spanish imperialism across Africa, Asia, and America.
Key Topics Covered: Natural history influence on medicine, European drug markets, surgeon status, race and racism, sanitation and public health, quarantine systems, germ theory, and vaccination campaigns.
Central Thesis: Medicine functioned as both a tool and product of imperialism, with colonial contexts mutually constituting European medical development.
Review Format Requested: Two contrasting perspectives (approximately 1,000-1,500 words); disciplinary diversity welcomed across medical humanities, academia, and clinical practice.
Availability: Two copies available for qualified reviewers.
Submission Contact: Prospective reviewers should email reviews editor with qualifications explaining positioning to review the work.

Two copies of ‘Medicine and Empire: 1600-1960’ by Pratik Chakrabarti (Palgrave Macmillan, 2013) are available for review. We are looking for two contrasting perspectives on Chakrabart’s work, which could take the form of different academic perspectives or reviews by an academic and clinician. Expressions of interest are welcome from across the medical humanities.

‘The history of modern medicine is inseparable from the history of imperialism. Medicine and Empire provides an introduction to this shared history – spanning three centuries and covering British, French and Spanish imperial histories in Africa, Asia and America.

Exploring the major developments in European medicine from the seventeenth century to the mid-twentieth century, Pratik Chakrabarti shows that the major developments in European medicine had a colonial counterpart and were closely intertwined with European activities overseas:

• the increasing influence of natural history on medicine
• the growth of European drug markets
• the rise of surgeons in status
• ideas of race and racism
• advancements in sanitation and public health
• the expansion of the modern quarantine system
• the emergence of Germ theory and global vaccination campaigns.

Drawing on recent scholarship and primary texts, this book narrates a mutually constitutive history in which medicine was both a ‘tool’ and a product of imperialism, and provides an original, accessible insight into the deep historical roots of the problems that plague global health today.’

If you would like to write a review on ‘Medicine and Empire‘ (approximately 1,000-1,500 words in length), then please email our reviews editor with a short explanation of why you are well placed to review the book.

Related Articles

FDA Disclaimer: These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.