| Administrative History | Jonathan Troup, son of Matthew Troup of Aberdeen, was born around 1764 and graduated MA from Marischal College, Aberdeen in 1786. He studied medicine at Aberdeen and Edinburgh before emigrating to the West Indies in 1788, where he practised medicine until his return to Great Britain in 1791. He continued to practice in Aberdeenshire and Aberdeen until his death at Corrachree, Aberdeenshire in 1799.
For further details see 'Fasti Academiae Mariscallanae Aberdonensis: Selections from the Records of the Marischal College and University, 1593 - 1860: Volume 2: Officers, Graduates and Alumni', ed. by Peter John Anderson, (Aberdeen: Spalding Club, 1898), p 359; and William H. Cranna, The log of a ship's surgeon, 'Caledonian Medical Journal', 21 (1923), 81 - 88. |
| Custodial History | Formerly in the possession of John MacDonald, 90 Queen's Road Aberdeen, whose name and address appear on front and end paper. |
| Description | Diary of the voyage by Jonathan Troup from Aberdeen to Dominica in the West Indies and of his life and work as a physician there, 1788 - 1790.
During the voyage, Troup served as ship's surgeon and on arrival in Roseau in Dominica, he began work as an assistant to Dr Fillan. He describes his life, the patients he treated and the illnesses they suffered from, the lives of the negroes and mullatoes, the culture and the politics of Dominica and other West Indian Islands. His relationship with Dr Fillan deteriorated badly and he moved to Prince Rupert's, on the other side of the island where he practised medicine and served as acting surgeon to the army ordnance at Fort Shirley.
The text is illustrated with crude ink and water-colour drawings of people and places encountered during his voyage and whilst practising medicine in Dominica.
While the spellings have been standardised to modern variants for easy searching, the vocabulary and terminology of the original volume has been maintained. |
| Publication Note | Journal of Jonathan Troup, covering travel from Aberdeen to Dominica, West Indies, 1788-1790. Northern Scotland, Volume 1, No. 1, (1970), p.122. |