Casas de Locos

The Treatment of the Mentally Ill in the Hispanic World Before the Enlightenment

Abstract

Before the Enlightenment, the mentally ill in the Hispanic world received standard medical care. After the foundation of the first hospital for specific treatment for mentally ill in Valencia in 1409, a number of hospitals opened their doors to patients with mental illness across the Iberian Peninsula during the 15th century. This model of medical care for people with mental illness was carried to America and the Philippines soon after the arrival of the Spaniards. The treatment for the mentally ill in the Hispanic World influenced the development of Pinel's moral treatment and the care of the mentally ill during the Enlightenment. This article will explain the circumstances leading to the foundation of a number of specific hospitals for the mentally ill in the Hispanic territories as well as the kind of care that these patients received at the so-called casas de locos.