Prostitución, Estado y Sociedad en España. La reglamentación de la prostitución bajo la monarquía de Isabel II (1854-1868)

Abstract

After two centuries of official abolitionism, the regulated prostitution came back during the reign of Isabella II and particularly from the Progresist period onwards (1854-1856). After recalling the origins of thuch regulations (1845-1847) and the rules applied in Madrid, which are worth noting because of their importance and influence, we are presenting the different decrees enforced in some regions of Spain (and particularly in the province of Cadix), in a chronological way which enables the reader to understand the formation, administrative and medical, of these regulations. Instead of putting the prostitute in a house of correction or expelling her from the town as done before, these regulations would put her in a brothel, pretending that she would not move freely and Üiat she would regularly be controlled concerning sexually transmitted deseases. The tolerance of prostitution confirmed as well the space and role of brothels in the social life of the main Spanish towns.