 Apprenticed to a local surgeon, and later educated at King's College, Aberdeen from 1750 to 1755, he obtained his MA in 1753 and went on to continue his surgical training in London under Dr. George Macaulay.Having entered the Navy in 1757, Ramsay served as surgeon aboard the Arundel in the West Indies, under the command of Sir Charles Middleton.In November 1759, the Arundel intercepted a British slave ship, the "Swift" and, on boarding the vessel, Ramsay found over 100 slaves living in the most inhumane conditions.