[The development of a healthcare network in Bahia, Brazil devoted to fighting the epidemics]

This article aims to analyze the roles of the State and local elite groups in the development of a healthcare network in Bahia, Brazil during the Empire until the First Republic. We show that the fight against epidemics in Bahia was the main motivation of health actions taken by the public authorities from the beginning of the 19th century until the 1920s. Our observations are supported by a range of primary sources, including messages from provincial presidents and governors, legislation, reports from engineers and doctors (health inspectors, consultants, etc.), among others. We also sought to establish a dialogue with sociology, examining historiographic texts on Bahia and Brazil as well as studies in the specific area of the History of Health.