« De petites considérations doivent-elles arrêter lorsqu’il s’agit d’un grand bien général? » L’inoculation à Genève au XVIIIe siècle

As it was introduced in 18th century Europe, the smallpox inoculation, presented by its supporters as a masterpiece of enlightened rationality , gave rise to passionate philosophical, medical, and theological debates. The history of inoculation deals with public health as well as individual experience and medical, progress. Too young to provide us with first-hand evidence, children are central, yet absent figures in this history. Focusing essentially on Geneva, this article firstly indicates what, according to doctors, the theoretically ideal age to be inoculated is. It then turns to the inoculators, who hesitate to operate on children because of their weak constitution, for fear of the negative publicity a failure would bring. It finally presents the reception of inoculation by the public within two different contexts: the public initiatives taken in Geneva in the field of inoculation, and the case of a family drama ensuing from the failure of an inoculation. The purpose of this article is to: (1) summarize the chronology and social aspects of the history of inoculation in Geneva; (2) demonstrate that the reputation of the inoculating physician is a fundamental parameter guiding parents in their choice; and (3) raise the question of what inoculation can teach us about the perception of childhood during the Ancien Régime.