Command to not comply. Decrees, reforms, omissions and contempts with hygiene and cleanliness in the Villa de Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria de Medellín, 1750-1810

Abstract

The history of hygiene, tidiness and cleanliness in the Villa of Medellin has been written in frag- ments, which is why it is a story between lights and shadows. This article offers a look from the official face from the writings of the Cabildo de la Villa, on the operations that were attempted to regulate the decoration, tidiness and cleanliness of a small place that served as an “apprentice” of a villa in a partially forgotten Province. On this article the streets, the water, the animals and the cleaning attempts under the reformist mantle in the second half of the 18th century will be taken as study elements. It should be noted that this writing uses official sources, that is, mandates, edicts and writings prepared in the Chapter House, whose purpose is to show the omissions to the many needs for action by the select group on whom the regency of power of the Villa in question.