| dc.description.abstract | The most unfortunate result of the Spanish Conquest was the subsequent decimation of native populations. Modern scholarship has demonstrated that European disease was the leading killer of the non-immune Indians in the New World. Smallpox was certainly the most deadly of the recurrent epidemics which lashed New Spain and Guatemala throughout the colonial period. The purpose of this dissertation is to narrate the accomplishments of the Royal Maritime Vaccination Expedition (1803-1806) which Charles IV dispatched to extend the smallpox vaccination to his American dominions. Francisco Xavier de Balmis, an eminent Spanish physician, was chosen to direct the Expedition. In 1796 Edward Jenner had discovered the smallpox vaccination, the first completely safe and effective method to protect against the disease. No native sources of the immunizing virus were found in the New World, however, and serum dispatched from Spain uniformly deteriorated during the voyage. Balmis, however, conserved the virus by utilizing the principle of chain inoculation. When a vaccination reached its peak of reaction, Balmis transferred a portion of the active matter to one of a number of non-immune Spanish boys who accompanied him to America. He successfully repeated this practice throughout the course of the Expedition. The Royal Expedition left La Coruna in November, 1803, and distributed the serum in the Canary Islands, Puerto Rico, Caracas, and La Guayra. At La Guayra the Expedition divided. An assistant led a portion of the mission to the South American interior. Balmis moved north to Cuba, New Spain, and Guatemala. Balmis, unquestionably an excellent physician, was a proud man and impressed with his own position. His haughty attitude provoked several disputes with leading colonial officials, most notably Viceroy Jose de Iturrigaray, over alleged indifference, obstructionism, and lack of proper deference toward an emissary of the King. His personal disputes often interfered with the effective prosecution of his mission. Despite the quarrels, between June, 1804, and February, 1805, Balmis and his aides spread the vaccination throughout New Spain and Guatemala. When the Expedition left Mexico they had vaccinated tens of thousands, established a network of vaccination boards and free clinics, and instructed hundreds of physicians, administrators, and laymen in the latest immunization techniques. In compliance with the King's instructions, the Director led the Expedition to Manila and supervised extension- of the serum along the Philippine archipelago. Forced by ill health to return to Spain, Balmis spread the inoculation to Macao, Canton, and St. Helena Island on his way to Europe. In 1810 Balmis returned to New Spain to inspect and further organize the administration of the serum, but the wars for independence frustrated his mission and destroyed most of the existing structure. The serum was often unavailable even in the major cities. Yet the Expedition's contribution to New World medical practices cannot be denied. The documents in the Archivo General de Indias, especially those in Indiferente General, Legajo 1.558, and in the Ramo de Epidemias in the Archivo General de la Nacion in Mexico-- the major sources utilized in this study--attest to the importance and effectiveness of the Expedition. | |
