Las Reales viruelas, muerte e inoculación en la Corte española

During the eighteenth century, smallpox reached its peak as a devastating disease, becoming the leading cause of infant mortality. Smallpox was a global scourge which decimated the members of all social classes. European monarchies suffered the virulence of the disease, which produced dramatic changes in the future of the Royal houses due to the death of kings and crown princes. The introduction of inoculation as a preventive remedy against smallpox was supported by the monarchies, but was not applied systematically, thus reducing its impact on mortality statistics. We review the effects of smallpox at the Spanish court, where the disease led to the extinction of the House of Austria and also affected the Bourbons, who, somewhat tardily, accepted inoculation and contributed to the propagation of the vaccine.