El Hospital Militar de Cartagena durante la insurrección cantonal (1873-1874)

Abstract

In the context of social instability during the First Republic, two civil conflicts developed simultaneously in Spain: the Third Carlist War and the cantonal rebellion. The cantonal rebellion had the epicentre inCartagena, which withstood several months of siege by the army loyal to the government of the First Republic. The city was able to treat the wounded from the conflict with the Hospital de Caridad, a civilian building that was rendered unusable by the bombardments, and mainly by the Military Hospital. In this article we describe how health care was provided in this hospital in a war context with intense artillery fire for several months. The work has been carried out through the analysis of primary sources consulted in the Naval Archive of the Arsenal of Cartagena and, after transcribing the primary source found “Statistical Memory”; a letter sent by Captain General of the Department in March 1874 to the Government of the Republic, reporting the events that took place in the Military Hospital during the conflict, where there was a shortage of medical personnel, medicines and food, among others.