Medicamentos simples para males.Los Casos felices y auténticos de medicina de Domingo Rota como ventana abierta a las artes de curar santafereñas (Santafé, 1750-1830)

 

“Along with every other thing that he made, God created medicine, simple and specific, and he created nature, admirably productive and conservative. He saw everything that he had created, and behold, it was very good.” This is the opening line of Casos felices y auténticos de medicina [Authentic and Fortuitous Medical Cases], a book by Domingo Rota, eighteenth century clockmaker, silversmith, and physician in Santafé de Bogotá, Nueva Granada. In examining the medical cases described by Rota in his book, this microhistorical study brings to light key aspects of medical practices at the end of the eighteenth century in Santafé de Bogotá and its environs. The study explores Rota’s life, his process of acqui-ring medical knowledge, his relations with other practitioners, the contents of his book, and the relation between all these matters and the social and historical context in which Rota practiced medicine.