The pastoral of the bodies: poverty, gender, and hospital care in Puerto Rico, 1812-1823

Abstract

This article analyses the State’s first attempt to implement public assistance in Puerto Rico. It is argued that liberals fought to advance their policies in order to favor the underprivileged population, but that their actions were limited by the diffi­culties encountered in the island, the lack of charities being one of them. During the first two constitutional periods (1812-1814 and 1820-1823,) an attempt was made to assist all of the underprivileged people, but only the sick at hospitals in the city of San Juan, were able to receive assistance. Throughout the article, it is demonstrated that during the XIX Century, gender played an important role when being admitted to a hospital: during the first constitutional period, only males received assistance at the Military Hospital; women received assistance during the second constitutional period, once the State was able to oversee the Hospital for the Underprivileged. In spite of the intermittence between the liberal and conservative political policies, the first steps to begin assisting sick and underprivileged Puerto Ricans in the city’s hospitals were given.