The therapeutic state monopoly of hydrotherapy and the limits of authority in the Corps of medical directors of baths, 1866-1869

Abstract

From the establishment of the Corps of medical directors of baths at the beginning of the 19th century, this professional group experienced nume- rous internal and external conflicts. Despite the institutional power that regula- tions gave them in the management of hydrotherapy, external actors, including general physicians and spa owners, questioned their scientific and moral autho- rity and their clinical monopoly. This article analyzes the conflicts that arose between medical directors and physicians. The latter demanded access to the former’s monopoly and to the same clinical rights. By focusing on the debate that took place between these professional groups from 1866 through 1869, this article analyses the different legal and discursive mechanisms employed to ge- nerate and criticize the authority of each group. In doing so, it shows that they had to carry out a careful process of negotiation in order to avoid accusations of fraud and corruption. At a time when the limits of the scientific and liberal pro- fessions were being set, the case of medical directors of baths allows the analy- sis of processes of negotiation and legitimization of status within an occupation that was not yet established as a profession.