History

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Background

EstatutosBy the middle of the 18th century, Spain had seen the emergence of numerous forums focused on various cultural and scientific topics of the day. It was out of such a context that a group of doctors, surgeons and pharmacists would take part in early evening intellectual gatherings at the home of D. José Ortega at 9 Montera Street. Informal conversation touched upon the advancement and nurturing of medical, surgical and pharmaceutical colleges in Madrid. This undertaking, fanned by some obvious desire to breathe new life into the medical field in and around the Spanish capital, would eventually blossom on 12 july 1733 into the Madrilenian Society of Medical Literature (Tertulia Literaria Médica Matritense).
This was only the modest beginning of a larger endeavour which was to be made one year later. On 12 August 1734, the Society's original statutes were modified and it became the Madrilenian Academy of Medicine (Academia Médica Matritense). A royal decree would mark the organization's approval by King Philip V one month later. The new institution would thrive under the auspices of the royal family, whose support for the academy would be undying. Conditions were set for a larger membership and widening of its range of disciplines, which were now to include Natural History, Chemistry, Physics and Botany. The naming of Dr. José Cervi, at that time the most eminent physician in service to the royal family, as the academy's director highlighted a desire by the House of Bourbon to have a firm hand in academic life.