PMID: 11625838Jan 1, 1994Paper

Medical attention for the miners of Almaden in the 18th and 19th century

Quaderni internazionali di storia della medicina e della sanità
A Menéndez Navarro

Abstract

From the 17th century until the 19th century, the world's most important mercury mine was the one at Almadén in the Spanish province of Ciudad Real. This state-owned mine rapidly achieved extraordinary importance, since mercury played a key role in the processing of silver from the Americas. However, efforts to reach target levels of production were hindered by the extreme toxicity of quicksilver. Nearly all the mining and metallurgical processes involved in the processes used to obtain mercury exposed workers to health risk. The extent and seriousness of the health problems suffered by workers at the mine (mainly hydragyrism) led to repeated labour shortages, a problem which reached its peak in the second half of the 18th century. The aim of this paper has been to study the strategies chosen by the managers of the establishment in their efforts to solve the problem and their evolution along the 18th and 19th centuries. Special attention is paid to health strategies engaged in the speedy return to health of the affected workers. Active intervention took various forms, from a patient-specific health centre, the Royal Miners' Hospital, to mechanisms of economic transference to the sick miners. The hospital, founded in 1752 and fu...Continue Reading

Related Concepts

Related Feeds

Alstrom Syndrome

Alstrom syndrome is a rare disorder characterized by early obesity, loss of central vision, diabetes mellitus, hearing loss, and short stature. Here is the latest research.

Related Papers

Occupational and Environmental Medicine
Montserrat García GómezJavier Gómez Quintana
Vesalius : Acta Internationales Historiae Medicinae
Z Z Slavec
International Journal of Occupational Safety and Ergonomics : JOSE
Lluís SanmiquelJosep M Rossell
© 2021 Meta ULC. All rights reserved