Hospital Politics in Seventeenth-Century France: The Crown, Urban Elites and the Poor (History of Medicine in Context)

The seventeenth century witnessed profound reforms in the way French cities administered poor relief and charitable health care. New hospitals were built to confine the able bodied and existing hospitals sheltering the sick poor contracted new medical staff and shifted their focus towards offering more medical services. Whilst these moves have often been regarded as a coherent state led policy, recent scholarship has begun to question this assumption, and pick-up on more localised concerns, and resistance to centrally imposed policies. This book engages with these concerns, to investigate the links between charitable health care, poor relief, religion, national politics and urban social order in seventeenth-century France. In so doing, it revises our understanding of the roles played in these issues by the crown and social elites, arguing that central government's social policy was conservative and largely reactive to pressure from local elites. It suggests that Louis XIV's policy regarding the reform of poor relief and the creation of General Hospitals in each town and city, as enshrined in the edict of 1662, was largely driven by the religious concerns of the kingdom's devout and the financial fears of the Parisian elites that their city hospitals were overburdened. Only after the Sun King's reign did central government begin to take a proactive role in administering poor relief and health care, utilizing urban charitable institutions to further its own political goals. By reintegrating the social aspirations of urban elites into the history of French poor relief, this book shows how the key role they played in the reform of hospitals, inspired by a mix of religious, economic and social motivations. It concludes that the state could be a reluctant participant in reform, until pressured into action by assisting elite groups pursuing their own goals. This book explores poor relief and charitable health care in French cities during the seventeenth century, a period that witnessed much reform and change in the way these services were administered. By reintegrating the social aspirations of urban elites into the history of French poor relief, it shows how they initiated reform in towns and cities when it suited them, but where such reforms were not perceived as needed, or not affordable, they ignored central government edicts to build new institutions. In other words, reforms of poor relief and health welfare were local and shaped by local experiences, not as part of the crown's drive towards centralization.

The seventeenth century witnessed profound reforms in the way French cities administered poor relief and charitable health care. New hospitals were built to confine the able bodied and existing hospitals sheltering the sick poor contracted new medical staff and shifted their focus towards offering more medical services. Whilst these moves have often been regarded as a coherent state led policy, recent scholarship has begun to question this assumption, and pick-up on more localised concerns, and resistance to centrally imposed policies.

This book engages with these concerns, to investigate the links between charitable health care, poor relief, religion, national politics and urban social order in seventeenth-century France. In so doing it revises our understanding of the roles played in these issues by the crown and social elites, arguing that central government's social policy was conservative and largely reactive to pressure from local elites. It suggests that Louis XIV's policy regarding the reform of poor relief and thecreation of General Hospitals in each town and city, as enshrined in the edict of 1662, was largely driven by the religious concerns of the kingdom's devout and the financial fears of the Parisian elites that their city hospitals were overburdened. Only after the Sun King's reign did central government begin to take a proactive role in administering poor relief and health care, utilizing urban charitable institutions to further its own political goals.

By reintegrating the social aspirations of urban elites into the history of French poor relief, this book shows how the key role they played in the reform of hospitals, inspired by a mix of religious, economic and social motivations. It concludes that the state could be a reluctant participant in reform, until pressured into action by assisting elite groups pursuing their own goals.

The seventeenth century witnessed profound reforms in the way French cities administered poor relief and charitable health care. New hospitals were built to confine the able bodied and existing hospitals sheltering the sick poor contracted new medical staff and shifted their focus towards offering more medical services. Whilst these moves have often been regarded as a coherent state led policy, recent scholarship has begun to question this assumption, and pick-up on more localised concerns, and resistance to centrally imposed policies.

This book engages with these concerns, to investigate the links between charitable health care, poor relief, religion, national politics and urban social order in seventeenth-century France. In so doing it revises our understanding of the roles played in these issues by the crown and social elites, arguing that central government's social policy was conservative and largely reactive to pressure from local elites. It suggests that Louis XIV's policy regarding the reform of poor relief and the creation of General Hospitals in each town and city, as enshrined in the edict of 1662, was largely driven by the religious concerns of the kingdom's devout and the financial fears of the Parisian elites that their city hospitals were overburdened. Only after the Sun King's reign did central government begin to take a proactive role in administering poor relief and health care, utilizing urban charitable institutions to further its own political goals.

By reintegrating the social aspirations of urban elites into the history of French poor relief, this book shows how the key role they played in the reform of hospitals, inspired by a mix of religious, economic and social motivations. It concludes that the state could be a reluctant participant in reform, until pressured into action by assisting elite groups pursuing their own goals.

Contents......Page 6 Acknowledgements......Page 8 Abbreviations......Page 10 Introduction......Page 12 1 Theories of Charity and Poor Relief......Page 22 2 Hospitals and the State......Page 50 3 The Reform of the Paris Hôtel Dieu......Page 66 4 The Reform of Poor Relief in Paris......Page 94 5 Social Welfare in a Developing Provincial Capital: Montpellier......Page 122 6 Reforming Social Welfare in a Divided Town: Nîmes......Page 150 Conclusions......Page 180 Bibliography......Page 184 C......Page 192 H......Page 194 L......Page 195 M......Page 196 N......Page 197 P......Page 199 T......Page 201 W......Page 202 Contents 6 Acknowledgements 8 Abbreviations 10 Introduction 12 1 Theories of Charity and Poor Relief 22 2 Hospitals and the State 50 3 The Reform of the Paris Hôtel Dieu 66 4 The Reform of Poor Relief in Paris 94 5 Social Welfare in a Developing Provincial Capital: Montpellier 122 6 Reforming Social Welfare in a Divided Town: Nîmes 150 Conclusions 180 Bibliography 184 Index 192 A 192 B 192 C 192 D 194 E 194 F 194 G 194 H 194 I 195 J 195 L 195 M 196 N 197 O 199 P 199 Q 201 R 201 S 201 T 201 U 202 V 202 W 202 "By reintegrating the social aspirations of urban elites into the history of French poor relief, this book shows how the key role they played in the reform of hospitals, inspired by a mix of religious, economic and social motivations. It concludes that the state could be a reluctant participant in reform, until pressured into action by assisting elite groups pursuing their own goals." --Book Jacket