Mujeres y espacios terapéuticos en Chile colonial: Las prácticas médicas del Monasterio Antiguo de Santa Clara de Santiago durante el siglo XVIII¹

This article studies the medical practices developed in the Ancient Monastery of Saint Claire of Santiago during the 18th century. Specifically, it describes the healing methods most frequently used to counteract the intramural diseases, including smallpox and dysentery. From the account books preserved in the historical archive of this religious institution, it is found that there was an orderly and defined system that combined treatments of a corporal, spiritual and emotional nature. Taking the example of this particular case, the research approaches the consideration of female cloisters as relevant therapeutic spaces of the Kingdom of Chile, in permanent link with other entities that also contributed to the health of the population in this same period, as was the case of the San Juan de Dios Hospital and the Jesuit drugstore.