Abstract
This article is part of an effort to compile the analyses made for my master’s dissertation from 2012. It contains new perspectives on Hospício de Pedro II (Pedro II Hospice) between 1883 and 1889, drawing on research of admissions records and files of patients staying at the institution, founded in 1852 in Rio de Janeiro. The involvement of different players and the interplay of different interests and demands with regard to the hospice are highlighted. It is important to expand the debate concerning the institution beyond medical and scientific aspects, considering its importance both as a charity and for its key role in the political and social relations of the empire.
Hospício de Pedro II; Santa Casa da Misericórdia; charity; history of psychiatry; clientelistic networks