Formerly, madness was identified with supernatural evils, typical of demonic possessions or as divine punishments for sins committed. Later it began to be identified as the loss of reason whose only remedy was confinement and the savage experiments, more typical of torture, to which the sick were subjected. In the 14th century, what had been a convent of the Order of the Star of Bethlehem in London became the Bethlem Royal Hospital , also called Bedlam , and was the first to welcome patients with mental illness.
Unfortunately, the hospital did not become famous for being a pioneer in treating mental illness but for the brutal mistreatment of patients (those considered violent or dangerous were tied and chained). In fact, the term Bedlam It has become synonymous with chaos, confusion, uproar...
And to add insult to injury, during the 18th and part of the 19th centuries, Bedlam became a tourist attraction. For the modest price of a penny – the first Tuesday of every month was free – you could watch the spectacle put on by the poor lunatics. In addition, if the show that day had not met expectations, sticks could be brought to incite the insane and raise the level of the show. Some also gave them alcohol to see how they would act drunk. In 1814 there were more than 96,000 visits, the biggest show in London.
Sources and image:BBC,