Los libros de asientos de los niños expósitos en Tenerife, siglos xviii-xix

Abstract

In this work, the extrinsic and intrinsic characteristics of the register book of the Foundling Hospital of La Laguna (1752-1794) are disclosed, such as the organization and distribution of its information; the design of its pages; the adequacy of its writing; the origin of its material; the type of its writing and the type of paper. Afterwards, we have resorted to other similar register books belonging to later periods, in the case of the records books of the Foundling Hospital of La Laguna from 1844-1846, and those corresponding to the Casa de Maternidad y Expósitos de Santa Cruz in 1875-1889. The purpose of this procedure was to observe the variables that occurred in the preparation of this documentation in Tenerife between the 18th and 19th centuries. Finally, the information contained in this book are explained in detail and the possibilities explained. In addition, we present some available ways to judge the reliability and quality of the results obtained from the demographic analysis.