[The Quebec asylum and the obstacles to medicalizing insanity (1845-1890)]

In 1845, the first true asylum for the mentally insane was founded at Beauport. Despite appearances and in spite of what some recent historians have claimed, the process of the medicalization of the insane encountered numerous obstacles in Québec including the private ownership of asylums, the weak role of the state, and also problems with the management of these institutions. Indeed, the asylum did not become a medical institution until 1890. This article outlines the obstacles met in this process, noting the marginal role of physicians and the general lack of what may be termed clinical psychiatry.