Page 176 - Mediterranea-ricerche storiche, n. 48, aprile 2020flip

176 Roberto Rossi

Table 1. Mexico City Poor House inmates (1774-1803)
Total Women Children (%)
Year
inmates (%)
1774 292 38 11
1777 650 n.a. n.a.
1780 644 44 16
1781 780 n.a. n.a.
1782 568 37 15
1790 910 n.a. 19
1793 777 n.a. 19
1794 743 n.a. 18
1795 820 46 21
1801 464 49 23
1802 609 51 27
1803 555 57 20
Average for the period 651 46 18,9
Source: S.M. Arrom, Containing the poor. The Mexico City Poor House cit., p. 289.

As soon as it was inaugurated, the facility immediately hosted 292
inmates of whom 38% were women and 11% children, as evidenced by
table 1. This number grew immediately both for the work of "mopping
up" of vagabonds and the poor, made in the city, and for the voluntary
access to the structure by numerous poor people who preferred
imprisonment – which offered, in the face of some restrictions, a safe
roof, food and assistance – to wandering. There was no racial purpose
in the settlement of Poor House, considering that the inmates were
either of Spanish or European origin either natives (indios). In 1777 the
number of inmates had risen to 650, to reach the remarkable peak of
910 in 1790. With these numbers the institution quickly reached the
saturation of its capacity for assistance and hospitality.

3. Structure and organization

The Real Albergo dei Poveri of Palermo

Efficient management of the Real Albergo dei Poveri and its silk
factory was going to be critical to its success. The management of the
Albergo needed to mediate between a social and entrepreneurial
purpose, between a good health and living standard and the financial
constraints imposed by the tight control of the Royal Secretary of
State, in line with the previous studies . Due to these double
18

18 R. Rossi, Poor government and work organisation in the Real Albergo dei poveri of
Palermo: a bio-political experiment in bourbon-sicily (eighteenth–nineteenth centuries), «De
Computis - Revista Española de Historia de la Contabilidad», vol. 15, n. 1, 2018, pp. 51-73;

Mediterranea - ricerche storiche - Anno XVII - Aprile 2020
ISSN 1824-3010 (stampa) ISSN 1828-230X (online)