Roy Porter student prize essay: More than quacks: seeking medical care in late colonial New Spain.
This article draws upon letters to a colonial physician, contemporary printed medical advice and published medical texts to confirm that formal medical assistance and information about treatment options were available in late colonial New Spain. Publications approved and supervised by the government, doctors, and pharmacies provided up-to-date medical treatments, and individuals actively sought health care from physicians and pharmacists, and expected relief from their ailments. A tradition of government participation in public health in Spain supported structures in New Spain where the latest European advances joined local traditions and experimentation. Although historians may question the effectiveness of any particular cure or treatment, they must accept that individuals in late colonial New Spain participated in their own health care and expected relief from their ailments.
Samayoa
Marianne B
MB
University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, Department of History/614 SST, 267-19th Avenue South, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA. mariannesamayoa@yahoo.com
D000077406:History of Pharmacy; D049671:History, 18th Century; D006801:Humans; D008519:Medicine, Traditional / Q000266:history*; D014481:United States