The appropriation of a healthcare space by a professional elite. The physicians of the Hospital Real in Granada during the 16th century

Abstract

This study investigates the staffing by physicians of the Hospital Real in the city of Granada in the 16^th century, focussing on the selection processes that preceded their respective and successive appointments. The aim is to illustrate the determination shown by this class of professionals to claim this healthcare space and the academic and socio-cultural requirements that they had to meet in return. These included the possession of a university degree and the accreditation of reputable surgical experience and, to a lesser degree, «limpieza de sangre» (proof of Spanish Christian ancestry) and the title of physician awarded by the local court of the Inquisition.