Hygiene and the social question in urban spaces: the regenerationist projects of Felipe Óvilo in Tangiers and Madrid (1886-1906

Abstract

The so-called “social question” became a lasting concern of Dr. Felipe Óvilo (1850-1909) in the peninsular, overseas and African locations in which he worked as physician and hygienist. He believed in the need of improving the health status as well as the living and working conditions of the working class as part of the regenerationist ideology that oriented his professional activity either in the field of medicine and public health, or in many others to which he devoted his time. From the 1880s onwards, Óvilo came to believe that the project of regeneration should necessarily be implemented at the same time in Spain and Morocco, the main target of Spanish Africanist plans. As a consequence, his social initiatives in late 19th-century Tangiers and early 20th century Madrid showed substantial continuities. This paper intends to describe the parallelisms of the social question in both urban centres and analyze a small sample of Óvilo’s actions in relation to the living and working conditions of Tangerian and Madrid workers.