Terapéutica para tratar el cólera en Yucatán, México (1833-1853). Medicina fisiológica, herbolaria local y régimen moral

Abstract

This article analyzes the pillars that supported the therapeutic practice in Yucatan to treat cholera patients during the outbreaks preceding the discovery of its bacterial etiology, one in 1833 and another in 1853. Due partly to a significant evolution in scientific and medical ideas, and the dissemination of the principles of positivism, a profound process of transformation was experienced, which brought, among other things, new perceptions of the disease as well as schemes different from the colonials to deal with emergencies and ensure public health. However, given the lack of consensus about the origin of cholera and its means of propagation, the government promoted different therapeutic techniques practiced in Europe or the United States, alongside local knowledge on the medicinal use of herbs, while also reviving old ideas on the impact of individual moral behavior in the tendency to contract the disease and eventually die.