Famine relief and imperial policy in early modern Morocco [Ressource électronique] : the political functions of public health

There has been no systematic ethnology nor comparative history of public health. In fact, there has been a broad consensus that prior to the arrival of missionaries and colonial health authorities there was no indigenous public health. These assumptions apply to only some settings and do not reflect the general history of public health. The present study concerns public health in the first century of Alawi rule in Morocco, ca. 1670-1790. The early Alawi sultans undertook public health programs, most of which concerned the prevention and relief of mass starvation. Goals of the programs were consistent with other features of their public policies. Effectiveness of the programs was limited partly by technical and scientific factors, but more by political constraints, especially the sultan's higher priorities for political stability than public welfare and public health. These data provide important insights not only into Moroccan social and political history, but also into the more general problem of the political nature of public health. (Am J Public Health 1981:71:1266-1273. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of American Journal of Public Health is the property of American Public Health Association and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)