March 2020
The understanding of charity within São Paulo began to change in the 1850s. In contrast with early readings on Brazilian generosity during the early days of colonization, there was a growing perception of health problems affecting the capital and other cities within the state. This transformation underscores alterations in measures adopted to address topics of health and sanitarianism between the Imperial and Republic periods.
In the article History of hospital care in São Paulo: State grants to the misericórdia charitable associations, Márcia Regina Barros da Silva, professor at the University of São Paulo, investigates how the santas casas de misericórdia charitable associations in the state of São Paulo were subsidized by the municipal, provincial, and state governments at the turn of the twentieth century.
The researcher examines budget appropriations from 1838 to 1915 to evaluate these charitable grants as well as the growth in funding during this period. While a care network created with strong state backing, it was put into action by philanthropic assistance. This network of hospital care retained the same format until at least the first third of the twentieth century, and included misericórdia establishments created within the interior of the state of São Paulo.
