Calculating compassion : humanity and relief in war, Britain 1870-1914 / Rebecca Gill.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Gill, Rebecca (Historian)

Series:

Humanitarianism (Series)

Humanitarianism : key debates and new approaches

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Humanitarian assistance, British--History--19th century.

Humanitarian assistance, British.

Humanitarian assistance, British--History--20th century.

War relief--Great Britain--History--19th century.

War relief.

War relief--Great Britain--History--20th century.

War victims--Services for--History--19th century.

War victims.

War victims--Services for--History--20th century.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (240 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Manchester ; New York : Manchester University Press, 2013.

Language Note:

In English.

System Details:

Mode of access: World Wide Web.

Summary:

The history of relief work is in its infancy. This book draws on new archival research to reveal the priorities of nineteenth-century relief workers, and the legacies of their preoccupations for relief work today. It first explores the inauguration of the British National Society for Aid to the Sick and Wounded in War (NAS) at the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War in 1870 under the figurehead of Loyd Lindsay. Then, the book sees the revival of the NAS for work in the Balkans during a period of nationalist violence and Ottoman counter-insurgency which culminated in the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-1878. It also follows the staff of relief committees as they dispensed aid in British colonial wars. The book examines the critiques of British policy in the Boer War (1899-1902) emanating from intersecting circles of Quakers, New Liberals and ethicists, and considers these groups' offer of aid to Boer civilians. Further, the book concentrates on the methodologies of relief for Boer inmates of British concentration camps in South Africa and on the implications of this relief for its intended recipients during and after the war. It concentrates on aid to British soldiers. The book closes by tracing continuities in vocational practices and dispositions to emerging areas of concern in the post-war period, in particular child welfare, and briefly considers their implication for relief work today.

Contents:

Cover; Half-title; Series page; Title page; Copyright information; Contents; Illustrations; Acknowledgements; Abbreviations; Introduction: calculating compassion in war; Part I A new vocation: British relief in war

France, 1870-71; 1 The origins of British relief in war; 2 Accounting for compassion: British relief in the Franco-Prussian War, 1870-71; Part II Knowledge of suffering and the politics of relief: the Balkans, 1876-78; 3 New humanitarian politics: 'victim' nations and the brotherhood of humanity

4 Neutrality and the politics of aid in insurgency: British relief to the Balkans, 1876-78Part III Boundaries of compassion: humanity and relief in British wars, c.1884-1914; 5 Scientific humanitarianism and British 'tyranny' in South Africa; 6 The rational application of compassion? Relief, reconstruction and disputes over civilian suffering in the Anglo-Boer War, 1899-1902; 7 Neutrality, proficiency and the feminisation of aid: from the 'scramble for Africa' to the Great War; Conclusion: humanity and relief in war and peace; Bibliography; Index

Notes:

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 15 May 2026).

Includes bibliographical references (pages 218-234) and index.

ISBN:

9781526110640

1526110644

9781526110657

1526110652

OCLC:

958413766