Do You Agree with the View That Mary Seacole, and Not Florence Nightingale, Was the Real “Angel of Mercy” in the Crimea?

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I believe that the claim that Mary Seacole was in fact more useful, brave and a greater figure of inspiration for the British soldiers than Florence Nightingale is correct. Although most historians gave all the official credit to Nightingale, racial prejudices may well have influenced this. Seacole received praise from men who saw her day to day and were able to view her real effectiveness, such as William Russell. The fact that Seacole was at the scene of the war and all its hardships, as highlighted in source V, also means she fulfills the term angel of mercy more than Nightingale in Scutari. It can be shown from the nature of the scene that source U is a Government propaganda painting, or produced by someone in favor of the war and Nightingales efforts as it shows a highly maintained level of hygiene and health. It’s painting from 1856 which most likely means the painter would not have had the benefit to study sources. Hence the hospital in Scutari is seen looking clean and spacious, with almost as many surgeons and nurses as patients. The historical evidence is that this was simply not the case. In reality the squalid conditions and lack of qualified surgeons meant death rates in Scutari were incredibly high. Florence Nightingale herself said that she questioned it being a hospital, but more of a death camp. Source U can therefore be seen as useless propaganda which built Nightingales false image of the “angel of mercy” in the Crimea. However there are some valid points about Nightingales positive contribution to the Scutari hospital. She was extremely persistent in writing letters to the British Government at home, begging them for basic supplies such as bandages. That she used her influential role to benefit the soldiers shows great concern and care for their welfare. By all reports she had “formidable gifts of organization”, as mentioned in

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