Name of Object:

Military personnel records

Location:

Madrid, Spain

Holding Institution:

National Museum of Anthropology

 About National Museum of Anthropology, Madrid

Holding Institution (original language):

Museo Nacional de Antropología

Date of Object:

19 August 1913

Inventory Number:

MNAFD980

Material(s) / Technique(s):

Silver gelatin print, paper

Dimensions:

8 x 5,5 cm

Description:

The information sheets are part of the medical examination prior to the training of the new recruits. The newly enrolled were destined for the Protectorate which, due to the pressure of public opinion, refused the presence of Spaniards in that area.
The records, along with a pair of photographs, gathered information on individuals’ social and professional backgrounds, as well as descriptive data and anthropometric values. Those values were used by the Medical Corps to determine the minimum size permitted to enter in the Army, but they were also important according to the existing racial theories in Spain.
The sheets refer to these soldiers as “Moors” in a generic way, a colloquial and sometimes pejorative term of Latin etymology, which alludes to the population of the Maghreb with no regard to their origin, ethnicity or beliefs.

Citation of this web page:

"Military personnel records" in "Sharing History", Museum With No Frontiers, 2024. https://sharinghistory.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=object;AWE;es;5;en

Copyedited by: Anne Dowell

MWNF Working Number: SP 005