Health care and poor relief in Portugal. An historical perspective

Abstract

This contribution has two main objectives. First, it seeks to describe the policies that governed the provision, regulation and distribution of poor-relief and healthcare resources in Portugal in the sixteenth to eighteenth centuries. Secondly, it attempts to account for the persistence of the poor-relief system established at the turn of the sixteenth century, together with its financial underpinning. The main features of this system are discussed on the basis of its primary components – hospitals, misericórdias (charitable institutions) and officially accredited health professionals. This article draws on previously published works (especially Abreu, 2018a, 2018b, 2018c), where the reader will find further details and references.