Physicians in Imperial Medicine: The Emergence of a Filipino Medical Profession in late Nineteenth Century Manila

In the late nineteenth century, Filipino physicians occupied medical officer positions such as Médico Titular and Médico Municipal, where both medicine and welfare were connected through colonial governmental services, especially in Manila and its suburbs. State medicine was launched by the Spanish empire, which was dependent upon the Catholic Church. The number of Filipino physicians who obtained medical licences from the University of Santo Tomas increased up until the 1890s. In addition, owning to cholera epidemics and the Philippine Revolution, the employment of Spanish physicians oscillated greatly during the 1890s. In general, medical care was delivered in patients' homes using native medicinal plants. Such native medicine had not been separated from Spanish imperial medicine. However, not all Filipino physicians necessarily used the medicine promoted by the Spanish empire, and one Filipino physician criticised Spanish medical policies at that time. This paper starts considering the emergence of a Filipino medical profession, first, by investigating public health and medicine in Manila. Consequently, the relationship between the state medicine and physicians will be discussed.