Conselho de salubridade pública de Pernambuco : um olhar médico sobre a cidade do Recife entre os anos de 1845-1850

Abstract

This scholarly work examines the purpose of the Board of Public Health Protection of Pernambuco to impact on the reef, through instructions to the President of the Province, between the years 1845 and 1850, aiming at its transformation into a city "modern" and "civilized." The Council as an institution Scientific Advisory reflecting the ideals of European doctors, worked to propagate a new vision of the world through the influence of Preventive Medicine of the city and the bodies of individuals. In a time unique in the history of Brazil, characterized by political changes that medicine tries to establish the medical profession, contribute to the strengthening of the Imperial and confirmed for the maintenance of order, health and domestic hygiene. From this perspective, we describe the historical context of Recife and the general living conditions of the population in this period; address the medical conceptions and their practices in order to understand how was the establishment of social medicine in that urban space, revealing the preventive measures proposed by Council to deal with "urban disorder"; know the difficulties encountered by the institution's intention to perform its activity, the moments of tension with the municipal government and segments of the population which did not accept the charges of medical hygienists; discuss on the ideology of civilization "which made new principles for the conduct of society, doing a research about thepolitical conditions that made possible the coherence of this discourse and on their acceptance or rejection by the population. Finally, we conclude that the work done by the Public Health Commission of Pernambuco was extremely important for understanding the implementation of ideas hygienists, especially in the city of Recife.