EVERYDAY LIFE OF A CHARITY HOSPITAL IN SÃO LUÍS AND THE SOCIAL CARE CRISIS AT THE SECOND HALF OF THE 19TH CENTURY

Abstract

The Irmandade da Misericórdia was founded in São Luís, around 1623. In 1642 the Irmandade had already built a church and a cemetery, and by 1653 there were already projects for the construction of a hospital. In the 19th century, they were managing a cemetery, the Hospital de Caridade and Hospital dos Lázaros, in addition to the Roda and Casa dos Expostos. In view of such an increase in the power and importance of the assistance practiced by the congregants of the Irmandade da Misericórdia, we will analyze how the treatment given to patients at the Hospital de Caridade was increasingly becoming a “great burden” for the Misericórdia, as, during the second half of the 19th century, there were recurring complaints regarding the difficulty of caring for the sick due to the intensification of financial crises. As the 19th century in São Luís was marked by the various epidemics that plagued urban agglomerations, we will also study assistance in the context of epidemic outbreaks and the transformations that such epidemics have brought to the Hospital de Caridade.

Keywords: Hospital - Charity - Assistance – Crisis.