This book represents the first systematic study of the certification of lunacy in the British Empire. Considering a variety of legal, archival, and published sources, it traces the origins and dissemination of a peculiar method for determining mental unsoundness defined as the ‘Victorian system’. Shaped by the dynamics surrounding the clandestine committal of wealthy Londoners in private madhouses, this system featured three distinctive tenets: standardized forms, independent medical examinations, and written facts of insanity. Despite their complexity, Victorian certificates achieved a remarkable success. Not only did they survive in the UK for more than a century, but they also served as a model for the development of mental health laws around the world. By the start of the Second World War, more than seventy colonial and non-colonial jurisdictions adopted the Victorian formula for making lunacy official with some countries still relying on it to this very day. Using case studies from Europe, the Americas, and the Pacific, this book charts the temporal and geographical trajectory of an imperial technology used to determine a person’s destiny. Shifting the focus from metropolitan policies to colonial dynamics, and from macro developments to micro histories, it explores the perspectives of families, doctors, and public officials as they began to deal with the delicate business of certification. This book will be of interest to scholars working on mental health policy, the history of medicine, disability studies, and the British Empire.
Erscheinungsdatum: 01.12.2023

lgli/3031427416_9783031427411_TheCertificationOfInsanity.pdf

lgrsnf/3031427416_9783031427411_TheCertificationOfInsanity.pdf

zlib/History/European History/Filippo Maria Sposini/The Certification of Insanity: Local Origins and Imperial Consequences_27119262.pdf

Springer International Publishing

Springer Nature Switzerland AG

Springer Nature, Cham, 2023

Switzerland, Switzerland

2024

TruePDF | Full TOC | PDF/X-1:2001

producers:
Springer-i

Acknowledgements 6
Contents 8
List of Figures 10
1 Introduction 13
Madness, Power, and Empire 15
The Certification of Lunacy Around the World 26
Local Origins and Imperial Consequences 44
2 The Medical Certificate: A Technology of Inspection, Identification, and Expertise 48
Introduction 48
Technologies of Fact-Finding 53
Under the Hands and Seals 61
Skilled Observers 69
Conclusions 81
3 Upon the Following Grounds: The Victorian System of Certification 83
Introduction 83
Liberty, Trade, and Privacy 89
Regulating Medical Power 103
Proofs on Paper 114
Conclusions 123
4 Building Expert Certifiers: The Rise of Psychological Physicians 125
Introduction 125
Expertise and Certification 130
The Risk of Certifying 137
Instructing Certifiers 146
Conclusions 156
5 Facts of Insanity Around the World: Towards an Imperial History of Lunacy Certificates 158
Introduction 158
Charting an Imperial Phenomenon 165
An Imperial Technology 180
Bringing Facts to the Pacific 191
Conclusions 202
6 A Choreography of Consensus: The Use of Hybrid Templates in Ontario 204
Introduction 204
The Rise of Form K 211
The Art of Certifying 223
Are Three Better Than Two? 233
Conclusions 240
7 Epilogue 242
Appendices 258
Appendix A: Major Legislation in the Age of Government Growth, England and Wales, 1773–1933 258
Appendix B: Certification in English Law, 1344–1914 262
Appendix C: Medical Certification in English Law, 1695–1913 268
Appendix D: Statutory Requirements for Civil Confinement in England and Wales, 1713–1890 279
Appendix E: Chronological Diffusion of the Victorian System of Certification 280
Appendix F: Geographical Diffusion of the Victorian System of Certification 288
References 294
Index 334

2023-12-10