Maternal Judgments: Women, Children, and Smallpox Vaccination in Spain and Its Empire

Maternal Judgments examines the role of race and gender in the responses to the world’s first vaccination campaign, helmed by the Spanish Crown in the early nineteenth century.

In 1796 the English physician Edward Jenner promoted the use of cowpox to provide immunity against smallpox, making it the first vaccine in human history. Soon after, the Spanish monarchy extended the vaccine to its global empire. Using mostly orphaned boys as carriers, the Royal Philanthropic Expedition transported t...