title: [The "protomedicat" in the kingdom of Chile: the first independent court (1786)].
abstract: This work is part of a study that analyzes the performance and significance of protomedicato during the colonial period in Chile. The Royal protomedicus is a medical term for "physician in chief". The documents that were contemporarily generated with the event and the general secondary bibliography about the medical profession in Chile have been analyzed. All this historiographical material is mainly kept at the National Archives of Chile. Along the manuscript, the arduous task of the sanitary authorities of the moment is made evident. They struggled to obtain a court, that was considered essential to improve the Kingdom's health. However, in spite of their efforts, they were not rewarded promptly and had to wait four years to obtain some results. The slowness of the process was a consequence of the institutions ineffectiveness and huge bureaucracy of that times and not due to the distance between the Kingdom of Chile and the Metropolis.
authors.affiliation: Museo Nacional de Medicina, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Chile, Santiago de Chile.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Gardeta-Sabater
mesh_terms: D002677:Chile; D003406:Credentialing / Q000266:history / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D049671:History, 18th Century; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010820:Physicians / Q000266:history; D011634:Public Health / Q000266:history*
vernacular_title: El protomedicato en el reino de Chile: su primer tribunal independiente (1786).