Because infants are the most vulnerable members of a community, their deaths – and the resulting infant mortality rate (IMR) – are said to signal more fundamental problems that are likely to affect the general health of a community. However, a focus on proximate- and intermediate-level risk factors in epidemiological analyses presents a decontextualized picture and ignores the role of larger forces on health, disease, and illness. In response to this trend, this project will contribute to a revitalization of the use of infant mortality as an index of larger social problems by tempering statistical analyses with critical reflection regarding the effects of the liminal position of Malta within the British imperial system, prior to the Second World War. In addition, by bringing together several analytic approaches which often proceed in parallel, rather than in dialogue – historical epidemiology, social history, and the analysis of colonial discourse – this dissertation highlights the problematics of knowledge production at both the theoretical and methodological level. As a result, my work is not just about Malta, one moment in history, the calculation of infant mortality rates, or the disentanglement of various determinants of infant mortality in this context; it is about the dynamics and repercussions of power differentials and of social, economic, and political inequalities, as they define and structure health outcomes and experiences. Specifically, I will show that fluctuations in international tensions affected Malta’s population on a number of levels because of the island’s importance as a British military and naval base and its location in the middle of the Mediterranean. I will demonstrate how Malta’s “strategic position” restricted political and economic development in the island and articulated with colonial perceptions of the Maltese as “Other” and Malta as “overpopulated.” Finally, I will argue that international tensions, Malta’s location within Empire, and perceptions of the island and its inhabitants in the early twentieth century affected the ways in which infant deaths were explained and understood and the strategies of intervention initiated in the island to curtail infant mortality – all of which had a tremendous impact on the rates at which infants in Malta died.

Because infants are the most vulnerable members of a community, their deaths – and the resulting infant mortality rate (IMR) – are said to signal more fundamental problems that are likely to affect the general health of a community. However, a focus on proximate- and intermediate-level risk factors in epidemiological analyses presents a decontextualized picture and ignores the role of larger forces on health, disease, and illness. In response to this trend, this project will contribute to a revitalization of the use of infant mortality as an index of larger social problems by tempering statistical analyses with critical reflection regarding the effects of the liminal position of Malta within the British imperial system, prior to the Second World War. In addition, by bringing together several analytic approaches which often proceed in parallel, rather than in dialogue – historical epidemiology, social history, and the analysis of colonial discourse – this dissertation highlights the problematics of knowledge production at both the theoretical and methodological level. As a result, my work is not just about Malta, one moment in history, the calculation of infant mortality rates, or the disentanglement of various determinants of infant mortality in this context; it is about the dynamics and repercussions of power differentials and of social, economic, and political inequalities, as they define and structure health outcomes and experiences. Specifically, I will show that fluctuations in international tensions affected Malta’s population on a number of levels because of the island’s importance as a British military and naval base and its location in the middle of the Mediterranean. I will demonstrate how Malta’s “strategic position” restricted political and economic development in the island and articulated with colonial perceptions of the Maltese as “Other” and Malta as “overpopulated.” Finally, I will argue that international tensions, Malta’s location within Empire, and perceptions of the island and its inhabitants in the early twentieth century affected the ways in which infant deaths were explained and understood and the strategies of intervention initiated in the island to curtail infant mortality – all of which had a tremendous impact on the rates at which infants in Malta died.

Esta tese procura analisar as representações de Richard Francis Burton na África Ocidental, durante sua permanência como cônsul inglês na Baía de Biafra entre os anos de 1861 e 1865. Para isto, procurou-se reconstituir o contexto histórico das relações inglesas com a região ao longo do século XIX, bem como a história das regiões descritas por Burton em seus textos. Além disto, também analizou-se os espaços de circulação dos textos de Burton na Inglaterra, e a relação do autor com a Royal Geographical Society e a Anthropological Society of London. O objetivo é recuperar parte da complexidade constitutiva de seus textos, valorizando a experiência pessoal do autor frente a resistência dos africanos à imposição de dinâmicas comerciais e econômicas inglesas. Para a consecução destes objetivos, foi realizada uma comparação entre os diversos registros escritos de Burton: documentos consulares no Foreign Office, artigos para revistas científicas e relatos de viagem / This thesis tries to analyze the representations of Richard Francis Burton in West Africa, during his consulship at the Fight of Biafra in the years between 1861-1865. To make it, we have reconstructed the historical context of the British relations with the region along the 19th century, as well as the history of the regions described by Burton in his texts. We also analyze the spaces of circulation of Burton\'s texts in England, and his relations with the Royal Geographical Society and the Anthropological Society of London. The aim is to recover part o the constitutive complexities of his texts, stressing the authors personal experience facing the African resistance to the impositions of British commercial and economic dynamics. To achieve these aims, we make a comparison between the several kinds of Burton\'s texts: the Foreign Office papers, articles to scientific journals, and travel writings.

Esta tese procura analisar as representações de Richard Francis Burton na África Ocidental, durante sua permanência como cônsul inglês na Baía de Biafra entre os anos de 1861 e 1865. Para isto, procurou-se reconstituir o contexto histórico das relações inglesas com a região ao longo do século XIX, bem como a história das regiões descritas por Burton em seus textos. Além disto, também analizou-se os espaços de circulação dos textos de Burton na Inglaterra, e a relação do autor com a Royal Geographical Society e a Anthropological Society of London. O objetivo é recuperar parte da complexidade constitutiva de seus textos, valorizando a experiência pessoal do autor frente a resistência dos africanos à imposição de dinâmicas comerciais e econômicas inglesas. Para a consecução destes objetivos, foi realizada uma comparação entre os diversos registros escritos de Burton: documentos consulares no Foreign Office, artigos para revistas científicas e relatos de viagem / This thesis tries to analyze the representations of Richard Francis Burton in West Africa, during his consulship at the Fight of Biafra in the years between 1861-1865. To make it, we have reconstructed the historical context of the British relations with the region along the 19th century, as well as the history of the regions described by Burton in his texts. We also analyze the spaces of circulation of Burton\'s texts in England, and his relations with the Royal Geographical Society and the Anthropological Society of London. The aim is to recover part o the constitutive complexities of his texts, stressing the authors personal experience facing the African resistance to the impositions of British commercial and economic dynamics. To achieve these aims, we make a comparison between the several kinds of Burton\'s texts: the Foreign Office papers, articles to scientific journals, and travel writings.