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“Our House Was Like a Hospital”: Health and Death Care towards Slaves of the Colegio Máximo de Córdoba and its Ranches (Jesuit Province of Paraguai, 1718-1765)

Abstract

This article explores the allocation of resources by the Jesuits for the treatment of sick slaves who performed productive and domestic functions. The study focuses on the Colegio Máximo de Córdoba and the estancias of Alta Gracia, Jesús María and Candelaria, rural enterprises that provided material support to that educational space. The time frame of our study spans five decades before the expulsion of the Society of Jesus from Spanish America in the eighteenth century. The primary sources analyzed include the Libros de Cuentas, reports documenting the financial movements of the properties managed by the Jesuits; the Provincial’s Libro de Consultas; Memoriales; and the yearly letters written in the period. The research reveals that while expenses for special diets for the sick and shrouds increased during epidemics, the impact of these costs varied across Jesuit establishments. This variation is due to the different critical periods of public health that were not always synchronized across the studied locations, nor were the number of casualties and the care given to the sick.

Keywords:
Slavery; health; sickness

Pós-Graduação em História, Faculdade de Filosofia e Ciências Humanas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais Av. Antônio Carlos, 6627 , Pampulha, Cidade Universitária, Caixa Postal 253 - CEP 31270-901, Tel./Fax: (55 31) 3409-5045, Belo Horizonte - MG, Brasil - Belo Horizonte - MG - Brazil
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