Notes on Rural Housing in Asturias between the 19th and 20th Centuries through Medical Topographies

Abstract

Medical topographies are works studying the environmental and material conditions of a territory aiming to take preventive action in order to improve public health and hygiene. Aside from health matters, the area’s geography, climate, fauna and flora, urbanism, demographics, economy, history, etc. are also considered in these works. This scientific literary genre flourished in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and is a very compelling source of historical knowledge. Furthermore, the case of Asturias is exceptional, since over fifty works covering much of the region’s territory were written. Using their data on living conditions in rural areas as a starting point, we offer a brief overview of conditions in rural environments, their problems and transformations in the first decades of the 20th century