De medische beroepsbevolking ten plattelande gedurende de 19e eeuw. Een onderzoek betreffende het Beneden-Maasgebied (1818-1865)

Abstract

Provincial medical profession in the Netherlands: the case of the Lower-Mans Region (1818-1865) This pilot-study discusses the role and the development of the medical profession in a rural area in the South-West of the Netherlands, in a period that started with the proclamation of a new Health Legislation in 1818 and ended in 1865 with a total reorganization of the national health organization and of the unification of the medical profession. A general introduction to the geographical and socio-economic situation of the choosen area and an exposition of the complicated structure of the medical profession before 1865 are followed by a survey of the information provided by the two main sources used for this study; the annual official lists of all persons admitted to medical practice and the annual reports of the governmental medical commission about the state of medicine in this area. These dates have been complemented with biographical and local historical details. Of this group of 21 medical doctors, 178 non-graduated doctors and surgeons and 45 midwives, we studied the geographical distribution, the factors influencing their practice (the service as naval surgeons, the keeping of second-dispensaries, the holding of other social positions), the age distribution of the several professional groups, their social position, family relations, educational background, and the main activities in their daily practice, i.e. the obstetrical practice, the supply of medicaments, the vaccination and their surgical work. As to the economic position of the medical profession the importance of the state of general health is noticed. There were scientific and professional organisations and several medical men contributed to the medical journals of those days. Overviewing the whole situation we stress that the case of the Lower-Maas Region certainly can not be regarded as representative lor the situation of the medical profession in the Netherlands as a whole.