A Treatise on Scurvy, 1753 – The First Millions Saved by Science

Historian Stephen Bown writes, "Scurvy (also referred to as skorbüt or skorbit) was responsible for more deaths at sea than storms, shipwrecks, war and all other diseases combined". "During the Age of Sail, a period beginning with the voyages of Columbus and ending with the development of steam power in ships in the mid-nineteenth century, more than two million sailors died of scurvy, historians estimate."

Today we know that scurvy is a disease caused by vitamin C deficiency. This vitamin is necessary for collagen synthesis in connective tissues. Symptoms of scurvy include bleeding gums, weakness and the reopening of old wounds. Scurvy was once common among sailors and soldiers whose voyages left them without access to fruit and vegetables for long periods. In 1601, English explorer Sir James Lancaster wrote that lemons helped prevent scurvy, and today we know this fruit is high in vitamin C. Note that Native Americans used teas made from pine bark and needles to treat scurvy, but European explorers were generally not ready to learn from "heathen savages."

Scottish naval doctor James Lind's famous scurvy experiment, regarded as the first human clinical trial conducted using the scientific method in history , represents the most important effort toward finding a cure for scurvy. As described in A Treatise on Scurvy, 1753, Lind divided sailors with scurvy into six groups, allowing them access to different foods. Only the sailors who ate lemons and oranges recovered rapidly. Unfortunately, he did not recommend a definitive treatment for the disease, and his work was largely ignored. Until 1795, sailors were regularly given lemon juice, effectively eliminating the disease from the British fleet.

Bown concluded, "The defeat of scurvy was one of the greatest medical and socio-military advances of the age, a discovery on a par with the accurate calculation of longitude at sea, the creation of smallpox vaccination or the development of steam power."

Historical figures mentioned in the article: Sir James Lancaster (1554–1618), James Lind (1716–1794)

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