It has long been argued by scholars and historians that ship surgeons were, if not the most, one of the most, important individuals on board. The position was one that was taken very seriously; after all they were depended on for delivering the passengers alive. As a result, a very specialized individual would take up the job. Surgeons were commonly either Indians or Eurasians who had been trained in the Calcutta medical school. These individuals more often went on voyages to places like Mauritius and Malaya (these were usually shorter). Sometimes the surgeons were taken from the Indian civil medical service, others were former naval doctors. A surgeon was only invited back if a certain amount of people arrived alive, therefore these individuals were considered very capable and professional. However, because they were responsible for the health and discipline of the passengers, as well as the upkeep of the actual ship ( ensuring that the Coolie’s were keeping their quarters clean), they held much power. As you will read later on, often times this power was unfortunately abused, resulting in acts of misconduct.