[Doctors and surgeons in Extremadura at the end of the 18th century]

The Royal Council of Extremadura was established by Carlos IV on 30 May 1790. Within a few months, its officials undertook a visit of the whole territory. They drew up a questionnaire with 57 items that allowed them to collect specific information of interest to the court. Through the information gathered from the responses of the different communities, we have studied the distribution of the doctors and surgeons practising there. This analysis allowed us to confirm the many different health and health care conditions in the region, and the determining demographic, social and economic factors that were, in the final instance, decisive for the presence of these professionals.