Notes on the West Indies 3 Volume Set Written During the Expedition Under the Command of the Late General Sir Ralph Abercromby - Cambridge Library Collection - Slavery and Abolition

George Pinckard (1768-1835) was an army surgeon who arrived in the West Indies in 1796. His letters to a friend were published as Notes on the West Indies in 1806; a second edition came out in 1816. Volume 1 deals with the delays in England (due to bad weather) before setting sail, the voyage, and his eventual arrival in Barbados. Volume 2 continues his detailed description of life in that island, particularly regarding slavery and medical matters. Volume 3 covers his secondment to Dutch Guiana where illness from yellow fever was rife. Recovering from it himself, he was able to give a detailed account of his symptoms. He was not impressed by the Dutch treatment of slaves and half-castes. An educated man, accustomed to careful observation of patients, Pinckard gives a valuable commentary on life in the Caribbean, perhaps typifying the responses of a westerner of his class.