What is “colonial” aboutmedievalcolonial medicine? Iberian health in global context

Abstract

Colonial medicine is a thriving field of study in the history of nineteenth- and twentieth-century medicine. Medicine can be used as a lens to view colonialism in action and as a way to critique colonialism. This article argues that key debates and ideas from that modern field can fruitfully be applied to the Middle Ages, especially for the early empires of Spain and Portugal (mid-fourteenth to mid-sixteenth centuries). The article identifies key modern debates, explores approaches to colonization and colonialism in the Middle Ages and discusses how medieval and modern medicine and healthcare could be compared using colonial and postcolonial discourses. The article ends with three case studies of healthcare encounters in Madeira, Granada and Hispaniola at the end of the fifteenth century.

Using 17th century medication for modern diabetes management: Doctors’ perceptions of self-medication practices – A qualitative study

“…But this perception among their patients had presented them with a challenge as their personal medicine practices contrast with this belief. Doctors in India primarily adopt a western medicine practices that have been largely influenced by the historical, social and political factors under the context of the continued colonial legacy of domination and hegemony of western ideals [ 28 – 30 ].…”

From colonialism to global health: Frameworks for the history of medicine in Portugal's empire

“…In an expansive historiographical survey, Mark Harrison (2015) has suggested that intercolonial medical initiatives, contingent institutional development, and attempts to manage the health of populations at an increasingly global scale from administrative agencies situated narrowly within the colonizing West all date to much earlier and justify deeper historical consideration. Although the investigative and clinical infrastructure of Portugal and its empire appear to have been markedly disaggregated for much of the early modern period, studies of Portugal's empire are nevertheless highly useful for establishing continuity across the precolonial, colonial, and postcolonial eras of medical history (McCleery, 2015).…”

Vaccine equity: Past, present, and future

“…They can be traced to at least the colonial and transatlantic slave trade eras and how these shaped the current world order and divisions of resources and power. 10 The pandemic, but also other social justice movements of the past few years such as Black Lives Matter and an increased attention to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), have put a spotlight on these patterns, arguably amplified them, and converged on issues at the intersection of injustice and power imbalances. 11 From more recent history, the vaccine equity debate is colored by large-scale disease outbreaks such as HIV (1990s), Ebola (especially the 2015-2016 West African outbreak), and Zika and the resulting moral distress among global health equity proponents.…”