"Nought Invigorates the Commoner more than Remuneration." Saving People from Drowning in Late 18th Century Bohemia

Abstract

This article examines the administration of rescue operations to save people from drowning and the distribution of rewards to rescuers in Bohemia during the 1780s and 1790s. Based on documented interrogations and official records, the article looks at the investigatory process, the conditions rescuers had to fulfil in order to apply for a reward from the Bohemian Gubernium, and the role of other actors in this process, such as witnesses and doctors.

Keywords

• drowning people
• remuneration
• medical police
• Bohemia