Rationality of Inaccurate Science: Britain, Cholera and the Pursuit of Progress in 1883

Abstract

An 1883 cholera epidemic in Egypt had British officials struggling to prove that the disease had originated in that country, rather than from a British ship. A reading of primary materials from the era suggest that England wished to be seen as a rational and scientific power, in contrast to its protectorate, and did so in the context of the European quest for colonies.