Terms of health clearance for vessels to enter the port of Funchal (18th and 19th centuries).

ABM made available, on its file search platform, the records of the terms of sanitary clearance of ships arriving at the port of Funchal. There are 24 books (1748-1880) belonging to the fund of the Funchal City Hall and produced in the context of the “Casa da Saúde do Porto do Funchal”. From this set, it is possible to access 17 digitized books, for a total of 5242 images.

The “Casa da Saúde do Porto do Funchal”, which was established in the first quarter of the 18th century, had the assignment to proceed to the sanitary dispatch of vessels that entered the port of Funchal. In practice, it was charged with the inspection of sanitary conditions on board of the vessels, with a view to avoid epidemic threats and contagious desieses imported from abroad by sea. From that way, the “Casa da Saúde” institutionalized a prophylactic concern, whose most important normative antecedent in Madeira consists of the “Regiment and ordinance of posture done on the guard of the sea”, of January 10, 1512.

Credits: Direção Regional do Arquivo e Biblioteca da Madeira

Termos de despacho de saúde das embarcações entradas no porto do Funchal