Loyola University Chicago Loyola eCommons Dissertations Theses and Dissertations 2016 Remains to Be Seen: Execution and Embodiment in the Early English Atlantic World Erin M. Feichtinger Loyola University Chicago Follow this and additional works at: https://ecommons.luc.edu/luc_diss Part of the European History Commons Recommended Citation Feichtinger, Erin M., "Remains to Be Seen: Execution and Embodiment in the Early English Atlantic World" (2016). Dissertations. 2130. https://ecommons.luc.edu/luc_diss/2130 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses and Dissertations at Loyola eCommons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Loyola eCommons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License. Copyright © 2016 Erin M. Feichtinger LOYOLA UNIVERSITY CHICAGO REMAINS TO BE SEEN: EXECUTION AND EMBODIMENT IN THE EARLY ENGLISH ATLANTIC WORLD A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL IN CANDIDACY FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY PROGRAM IN HISTORY BY ERIN M FEICHTINGER CHICAGO, ILLINOIS AUGUST 2016 Copyright by Erin Feichtinger, 2016 All rights reserved. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS As much as writing a dissertation feels like a solitary exercise, I know that I could not have succeeded without the love and support of a diverse group of mentors, friends, and colleagues. All of these people deserve more than an Acknowledgments section. First I suppose I must thank Loyola University Chicago for allocating enough funding for me to complete my coursework and research. I extend my best wishes to the administration in their struggle to balance their increasingly capitalist principles with the need to develop academic curiosity in undergraduates, and sincerely hope they seek to strengthen their commitment to the mission of social justice. This includes paying professors what they are worth. Campus workers deserve a living wage. Our students’ opinions are the lifeblood of our institution, not an embarrassment. Most of all, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to the History Department at Loyola who took a chance on me six years ago and accepted me into the Ph.D program. Dr. John Donoghue encouraged me to apply to the program after what was, I suppose, a pretty good midterm essay in an undergraduate class on Pirates and Sailors in the Revolutionary Atlantic. I have no doubt he played some part in shepherding my application through to admission and full funding. I will always be immensely grateful for that encouragement. Dr. Marek Suszko was my very first professor as an undergraduate at Loyola, and over the course of ten years has been a teaching mentor, dear friend, and close confidante. He owns the only copy of my first children’s book, Mao and the Big Red Bicycle. iii Two people in particular merit their own space here. Dr. Suzanne Kaufman took me on early in my graduate school career after a discussion of Michel Foucault’s Discipline and Punish. She did not have to do so, especially since her scholarship has nothing to do with mine. Her belief in not only my work, but also in the principles which I hold dear, has been an incredible source of stability and calm in an otherwise chaotic and emotional journey. The countless hours of conversation between us have shaped who I am as a scholar and as a person, and I will forever be immensely grateful for her being a part of my life. Dr. Robert Bucholz is an incredible teacher, scholar, and mentor whose impact on my life, scholarship, and teaching is immeasurable. He, too, took me on as a student when he had already decided not to mentor anyone. There must have been something in the water that year. His passion for teaching was a constant inspiration to me. His commitment to my development as a human being and as a scholar is invaluable. To Suzanne and Liege Lord, this dissertation would not have been possible without you. The same goes for who I am today and who I hope to be in the future. I love and respect you both. And now for the fun part. I have had the good fortune of being a part of the best group of graduate students and friends that a lifelong nerd could dream of. My cohort was small by most standards, but huge if measured in personality and volume (I am looking at you, Dr. Dan Ott). Amelia Serafine has made me laugh since the first time I met her in the Atlantic World class and she described her research interests as “I’m into tramps.” The depth of her intelligence is a constant source of amazement, and the way she lives her life is an inspiration. Dr. Dan Ott took the heat off of me for most energetic member of the cohort. He, too, is brilliant. His zeal for learning and passionate debate keeps us all iv engaged as scholars and friends, while his dedication to just plain work on the basketball court has solicited many a foul and secured many a basket. I had the great fortune of coaching Dan and others through several losing intramural basketball seasons as Team Discipline and Punish. Dr. Theodore “TK” Karamanski has not only been one of my biggest cheerleaders, but he was surprisingly agile on the court for an old man. His sense of humor will undoubtedly allow him to forgive me for saying so in writing. Dr. Devin “Uncle 2Pelo” Hunter has been like a brother to me, as well as my other half in the most dynamic PG-PF duo in History department memory. Dr. Anthony “Fat Tony” DiLorenzo, a fellow Atlanticist, and I have spent innumerable hours arguing, talking, and drinking over the past seven years. The other Atlanticist, Dr. Pete “Roundhead” Kotowski, commiserated with me in our shared struggles. Nathan “Discourse” Jéremié-Brink’s unflagging optimism and dedication to his principles has many times saved me from going completely off the deep edge of cynicism. Matthew Sawicki is a hero, plain and simple. Amy Oberlin traveled with me to London for a month of research in the archives. Her friendship and support extends to cocktails and rousing renditions of the Rocky Horror Picture Show soundtrack. Aaron Brunmeier began the program with me, and dreamed his way to different paths in life. He was my “Maid of Honor” and remains my best friend. My family is loud, opinionated, and incredible. My mom, Michele Ernst, and dad, Matt Feichtinger, have always expected nothing short of the best from all of us, and they have encouraged us to develop our beliefs and stand by them. Dinner conversations now that we are all principled adults sometimes leaves them reconsidering that earlier position. I am proud to call you both my parents, and I would say you did pretty well. v Trust me, I am a Doctor now. My siblings Molly, Katy, and Tommy, are some of the most exceptional and compassionate people I have the pleasure of knowing. Then again, Feichtinger does mean “champion”. These sentiments apply as well to my extended Romero family. I recently married into an exceptionally warm and welcoming family whose sons, perhaps by accident, are all married to a Dr. of some form or another. To the entire Cavanaugh and Barrett families, your acceptance of me as a daughter, sister, cousin, and intellectual is pretty incredible and I am grateful to you for everything that you do and what you stand for. My adopted family at A Just Harvest Community Kitchen in Rogers Park fed my body and my soul. L’Tonya and Mama T are wonderful human beings and even better examples of humanity. To all of my families, in the words of Mama T, “I love you, and there’s nothing you can do about it.” My partner Chewy has been by my side through all of this. He is absolutely, without a doubt, the best person I know. His dedication and compassion to others continues to pull me out of the books and into the world. His dedication to me and my goals makes me the luckiest person on the planet. His annoyance with hyperbole does not apply to situations like this. As the Boss says, together we can live with the sadness, and I love you with all of the madness in my soul. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS iii LIST OF FIGURES viii INTRODUCTION: A WARNING 1 CHAPTER ONE: “WHO THROUGH MORTALITY HAD FAILED” CRIMINALIZATION AND COMMODIFICATION IN VIRGINIA 32 CHAPTER TWO: “THE CAREFUL ENDEAVOURS OF MR ORDINARY” THE BODY POLITIC AND BODY CONDEMNED AFTER THE GLORIOUS REVOLUTION 105 CHAPTER THREE: “MAKE GENTLEMEN OF THEM ALL” LABOR, AGENCY, AND THE BODY IN THE GOLDEN AGE OF PIRACY 158 CHAPTER FOUR: “ON THE IMPOSITIONS OF QUACKS” SURGEONS, THE CONDEMNED, AND THE MURDER ACT OF 1752 219 CONCLUSION: ON DIVISIONS 267 BIBLIOGRAPHY 276 VITA 289 vii LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. William Hogarth, The Consultation of Physicians (Arms of Undertakers), 1736 219 Figure 2. William Hogarth, The Death of the Harlot, 1732 238 Figure 3. William Hogarth, The Reward of Cruelty, 1751 251 viii INTRODUCTION A WARNING Throw the forbidden places open Let the dragons and the lions play. Let us swallow the worm of power And the name pass away. - E.P. Thompson, “A Charm Against Evil” It should be understood from the beginning that this will not have a happy ending. Most of the people in the following pages were poor, destitute, and desperate, and lost their lives as a result of concerted efforts by those who claimed authority over them to control their bodies and make them useful.