In , it was presented to the Library of Winchester College by the then Headmaster. But in , she nursed victims of the Kingston cholera epidemic. In , Mary returned to Kingston, caring for victims of a yellow fever epidemic. Mary had no children of her own, but the strong maternal attachments she formed with these soldiers, and her feelings for them, would later drive Mary to the Crimea.
The Crimean War lasted from October until February It was fought by a coalition including Britain, against the Russian Empire. Mary travelled to England and approached the British War Office, asking to be sent as an army nurse to the Crimea where she had heard there were poor medical facilities for wounded soldiers. She was refused. Undaunted, she funded her own trip to Crimea, now part of Ukraine, where she established the British Hotel with Thomas Day, a relative of her husband, Edwin.
The hotel provided a place of respite for sick and recovering soldiers. At the time, Mary was as well-known in Britain as Florence Nightingale. Mary was able to visit the battlefield, sometimes under fire, to nurse the wounded. When the war ended, Mary went back to Britain with very little money.
Soldiers wrote letters to newspapers, praising what she had done. Race did not seem to be a factor, for the queen had been known to meet with and even financially assist subjects of the Empire who were of African or Asian heritage. Seacole's biographers speculate that Florence Nightingale—who became close to the monarch in the years following her Crimean War fame—had spread rumors that Seacole ran a brothel, and seemed to have known that Seacole had given birth to a daughter out of wedlock, whom she brought to Crimea but never mentioned in her autobiography.
Returning to London around as a new conflict, the Franco-Prussian War, raged in Europe, Seacole contacted a member of parliament who was heading British relief services for it—an agency that was the forerunner of the Red Cross—and offered her help, but the politician was Nightingale's brother-in-law, and once again her generosity was spurned. For a time she served as masseuse to Alexandra, the Princess of Wales, who suffered from painful rheumatism. On May 14, , Seacole died at her home in Paddington, London, with the cause of death listed as apoplexy, or a stroke.
Her uniquely adventurous and service-oriented life was largely forgotten for decades, until her name advanced to the top of the list in a national online poll for the Greatest Black Briton. In January of , a previously unknown portrait of Seacole was permanently installed at the National Portrait Gallery of Britain. The Wonderful Adventures of Mrs. Seacole in Many Lands , Bristol, England, Guardian London, England , February 14, ; January 11, Toggle navigation.
Books The Wonderful Adventures of Mrs. Periodicals African American Review , Winter History Today , February New Statesman , January 17, Women in Higher Education , February User Contributions: 1.
This was the University's tribute to a remarkable woman who would have been largely forgotten by the rest of the world due to malice, envy and racial intolerance. Augustine in Trinidad and the Open Campus, mementoes and historical material about her can be sourced. She is highly regarded by the Nurses in the Caribbean, many of whom have added so much value to the profession worldwide.
In , Mary married Edwin Seacole but the marriage was short-lived as he died in Seacole was an inveterate traveller, and before her marriage visited other parts of the Caribbean, including Cuba, Haiti and the Bahamas, as well as Central America and Britain.
On these trips she complemented her knowledge of traditional medicine with European medical ideas. In , Seacole travelled to England again, and approached the War Office, asking to be sent as an army nurse to the Crimea where there was known to be poor medical facilities for wounded soldiers. She was refused. Undaunted Seacole funded her own trip to the Crimea where she established the British Hotel near Balaclava to provide 'a mess-table and comfortable quarters for sick and convalescent officers'.
It, too, failed. To raise more money, Seacole wrote Wonderful Adventures of Mrs. Published in July , Wonderful Adventures was one of the first travel memoirs ever published by a black woman. Written for a popular audience hungry for tales of the Crimean War, the book was a success. It quickly went into a second printing. Seacole died of a stroke on May 14, She was 76 years old. A rich woman at the time of her death, she left much of her money to her sister in Jamaica.
Because Jamaica was part of the British Empire during her lifetime, Seacole always considered herself a British citizen. In the early s, the group restored her gravestone in St. In , years after her death, a service was held and has been held every year since at her gravesite in London. In , a painting of Seacole was rescued from a rummage sale and now hangs in the National Portrait Gallery. Commemorative stamps have been issued in her honor, both by Jamaica and the U.
Royal Mail. In them, she is portrayed wearing medals—which, however, were never awarded to her medals were given only to the military. Cholera is caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae , which enters a person's intestines and releases cholera toxin.
The bacterium is usually found in water or food contaminated by feces. Symptoms include diarrhea, vomiting, and leg cramps. Without treatment, dehydration and even death can occur within hours. The effective treatment for cholera today is oral rehydration therapy, to replace the lost electrolytes essential to keep the heart functioning.
The remedies Mary Seacole and many doctors of the time used were counter-productive, promoting dehydration by vomiting, bowel purging, and sweating. Admiral Lord Nelson. Horatio Nelson, British naval leader. California Gold Rush.
Crimean War. Ottoman Empire. Panama Canal. Media Credits The audio, illustrations, photos, and videos are credited beneath the media asset, except for promotional images, which generally link to another page that contains the media credit. Media If a media asset is downloadable, a download button appears in the corner of the media viewer. Text Text on this page is printable and can be used according to our Terms of Service.
Interactives Any interactives on this page can only be played while you are visiting our website. Related Resources.
0コメント