Monthly Archives: April 2020

Charles Maitland, Overlooked Pioneer of Smallpox Inoculation

  Sylvia Valentine is a professional genealogist who is also completing a PhD at the University of Dundee. Her thesis explores opposition to compulsory smallpox vaccination in 19th and early 20th– century Scotland. Follow Sylvia on Twitter at @historylady2013   One of the least recognised figures in the history of smallpox prevention is Aberdonian Charles

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Torture in Early Modern Scotland

  Dr Allan Kennedy explores ideas and practice around the use of judicial torture in early modern Scotland.  Follow Allan on Twitter at: @Allan_D_Kennedy    When we discuss crime and punishment in the past, we often instinctively think about torture. Grisly images of broken, brutalised bodies worm their way into our imaginations, especially when we’re thinking

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