The "Instituto de Caridad Hermandad de Dolores" ["Institute of Charity Fraternity of Sorrows"], is the oldest institution of private charity in Chile, which has offered free medical services in the city of Santiago since 19th century. It was founded on March 3, 1815, by a group of patriots, imprisoned on Juan Fernández Island within the framework of the Independence of Chile, among them, Juan Egaña, Manuel de Salas and Manuel Blanco Encalada. After the conflict, the confined returned to Santiago and there they fulfilled their promise to form an associationaimed at the help of the poorest people of the city. The archive of this institution, composed of more than 300 manuscripts, traces its history from the 19th century to the present day. In this project, 100 volumes corresponding to the first half of the 20th century (1900-1950) are rescued. Even if their documents are not strictly "pre-modern" as to the materiality, so are their valuable content, which illustrate a Chilean society still in the making, specially regarding medicine, women's participation in the public sphere and the lack of State policies related to charity and to the poor.
El Instituto de Caridad "Hermandad de Dolores", es la institución de caridad privada más antigua de Chile, la que ha ofrecido servicios médicos gratuitos desde el siglo XIX. Fue fundada el 03 de marzo de 1815, por un grupo de patriotas recluidos en la Isla Juan Fernández en el marco de la Independencia de Chile, entre ellos, Juan Egaña, Manuel de Salas y Manuel Blanco Encalada. Finalizado el conflicto, los confinados volvieron a Santiago y cumplieron allí su promesa de constituir una asociación destinada al auxilio de los sujetos más pobres de la ciudad. El archivo de esta institución, compuesto por más de 300 manuscritos, recorre su historia desde el siglo XIX a la actualidad. En el caso de este proyecto, se rescatan 100 volúmenes correspondientes a la primera mitad del siglo XX (1900-1950). Aunque sus documentos no son estrictamente "pre-modernos" en cuanto a su materialidad, sus contenidos sí lo son, pues ilustran una sociedad chilena aún en proceso de construcción, especialmente con respecto a la medicina, la participación de las mujeres en la esfera púbica y la falta de políticas estatales relacionadas con la caridad y la pobreza.
Extent: 1 collection containing 4 series.
Custodial history: The collection belongs to the Institute of Charity "Fraternity of Sorrows", since it corresponds to his private archive. It is currently located at the Universidad de los Andes (momentary transfer), an educational institution that has been in charge of its rescue and asset value in recent years.
Arrangement: The collection was organized by a team of professionals from the Universidad de los Andes, led by Professor Alexandrine de la Taille and according to the guidelines provided by the board of the Institute of Charity "Fraternity of Sorrows". Two criteria, chronological and thematic, were specifically used. Currently, the collection is made up of seven series: accounts, donations, properties, institution, doctors and patients, prescriptions and medicines, partners. In the case of this project, the first four series have been considered, corresponding to the 100 files of the first half of the 20th century (AHDD00070-AHDD000169).
Author(s)/Creator(s): Instituo de Caridad "Fraternidad de Dolores" [Institute of Charity "Fraternity of Sorrows"].
External reference: AHDD00070-AHDD000169.
This collection contains the following 4 series.
- EAP1289/1/1: Cuentas [1st half of the 20th century]
- EAP1289/1/2: Donaciones [19th century-20th century]
- EAP1289/1/3: Inmuebles [19th century-20th century]
- EAP1289/1/4: Institución [19th century-20th century].
