Childhood and Poverty in Leon in the Modern Period: Institutional Responses

n the sixteenth century the first steps began to be taken in Europe to bring into practice the theoretical models for protecting children that had started to evolve in the later Middle Ages. In the Spain of that time certain thinkers, such as Luis Vives or Miguel de Giginta, began to put forward solutions, especially with regard to abandoned children. In general, it was not a case of specific works on the question, but rather of discussion of the topic of childhood in a tangential way, integrated into their analyses of the overall phenomenon of poverty. Vives, in his famous Socorro de los pobres [Aiding the Poor], advocated the establishment in the chief cities of the realm of centres to aid abandoned children, where they would receive attention of all sorts. The idea of all these writers was closely linked to the need to keep children from begging, because of all the terrible drawbacks that this would bring, starting with the exploitation of minors and going on to their highly likely slide into delinquency. In brief, these policies brought together the traditional spirit of Christian charity from the Middle Ages and a growing fear of the poor as subversive. Alongside these points of view a major part was also played by more financial criteria; these sought to make individuals useful through intellectual, I