Beneficial Era: Spanish Prostitution and Catholic Church
Shelby Rome

A crucial part of Spain’s archive, the era of a prostitution fueled economy, is often not recognized when discussing the major parts of Spanish nation building in the 19th century. Utilizing La Prostituta, the Holy Bible and other exemplary sources, the audience should be able to divulge into the debate surrounding this time period, which is often the cause for the lack of recognition. One may ponder, did the Catholic Church support prostitution for the sake of the economical situation or did the Catholic Church disapprove of the risky behaviors induced by the movement of prostitution? Using the previously stated sources, one can see that the Catholic Church likely considered this sinful time period as sacred and unavoidable to dismiss the contradictions in morals between the Spanish people and the Bible. Starting with background information, hygiene risks and the Bible’s ideals for Catholic followers, the reader should be able to consider the debate at hand and formulate an opinion of their own.

In an effort to expand global control, Spain went to war with America over several territories stretching from the Caribbean to Asia in the Spanish-American war. Unfortunately for Spain, their efforts in the war were unsuccessful. Following their loss, Spain faced numerous years of economic, social and political despair. In desperate search of a source of income and business for the economy, Spanish society contributed to the rise of feminism, realism, and hygiene as a result of the successful industry of prostitution. Creating what was deemed an underground business to aid the Church in avoiding embarrassment, the majority of Spain was participating in the economical movement. On the rise of popularity, prostitution created sufficient business relations to place Spain within a new era of literary and conceptual eminence, referred to as the Generation of 1898. The Generation of 1898 was a necessary development, along with the prostitution era, to regenerate, salvage and contribute to the construction of a new Spain and the remaining economy Spain had during this time. As one can imagine, when the majority of a country is engaging in such a personal, close-knit activity, the risk of harboring a malicious disease due to the sexual and risqué behaviors increased significantly. When the hygiene of those participating in the acts started depleting, the need for regulation and advanced hygiene practices was more necessary than ever before.

The secondary reason, the first being the sin of fornication, for the need of regulation was for the purpose of hygiene. By tracking the transactions, and recording the names of the men and women who participated within this movement, the government and Church would have been able to control the spread of numerous harmful, irreversible sexually transmitted diseases. Alain Corbin agreed that within the United Nations, sanitation and proper execution of sexual interactions was the key to creating a safe, acceptable environment for prostitutes to function within. During a syphilis outbreak, prostitutes were described as containing a stench and leaking fluid, wreaking a rotting corpse that caused turmoil within the industry. It is clear to see regulation for this industrial pathway was far beyond due.

La Prostituta, by Eduardo López Bago, presents ideas about the need for regulation on prostitution and the poor hygiene practices during this time period, as well as stories and examples of rituals and performances that would likely receive disapproval from the Catholic Church during another point in Spain’s history. As a result of the foul hygiene issues, one of the first condoms were created; they were popular as the condoms proved to be durable, yet permeable and flexible, allowing for the free range of motion prostitution was centered around. This invention allowed for prostitutes and clients to be less likely to receive any sexually transmitted disease through their venereal interactions (Bago 142). Aside from the health related issues, prostitution also caused numerous mental and spiritual issues, that will be discussed later within this essay. To start, the Bible does not support prostitution, as it can be seen as something that causes death to marriages and spiritual emotions. An example of this can be seen on La Prostituta where a marriage ends due to prostitution and adultery, and yet, the wife continued to work in a harlot inn afterwards and obtained an aneuyrism. It can be hard to accept such ideas and be in support of a movement, but as discussed later, the benefits of prostitution much outweighed the negative aspects caused during this era.

Following the idea of the Church’s embarrassment, it can be inferred the Church did not support the seacts of adultery, sin and risky sexual behavior. Outlining Bible verses within this source, the true ideologies of the Catholic Church’s morals can be seen. Using Leviticus 19:29, one can see the considered response to a man and woman committing adultery, “do not prostitute thy daughter, to cause her to be a whore; lest the land fall to whoredom, and the land become full of wickedness.” As mentioned, the “whoredom” of women and seemingly men, as well, was largely frowned upon within Catholic society due to the loss of innocence of the younger population. If a woman became a prostitute, they were more likely to be rejected or overlooked by men looking for a potential wife due to this wickedness. To further explain, Deuteronomy 23:17 presents the idea that women, and men, shall not become prostitutes due to the unholy nature they face during such actions, “none of the daughters of Israel shall be a cult prostitute, and none of the sons of Israel shall be a cult prostitute.” The refusal of adultery and prostitution in the Bible is likely due to the thought that prostitution ends marriages, causes poor personal health, and can extract important and necessary spiritual aspects of one’s life.

Proverbs 23:27-28 provides another viewpoint the Church had against prostitutes, "for a prostitute is a deep pit and a wayward wife is a narrow well. Like a bandit she lies in wait, and multiplies the unfaithful among men.” Analyzing this piece of information, the reader must understand how poorly prostitutes were thought of during the era of regeneration for Spain, as they were seen as pits of despair and shame. Though the world knew fornication was one of the worst sins to commit, considering the income stability and success the industry was producing, the Church swallowed their pride and deemed the prostitution as sacred to dismiss any push-back received. After all, prostitution is the “oldest profession,” how can the Catholic Church deny that?

Using the Amsterdam Red Light District as an example, as much of the opinions about Spanish 1898 prostitution have been diminished within the world wide web, one is able to gauge the “modern” opinion formed by the Catholic Church regarding sins of fornication as an income source for the economy of a country. The Catholic Church of Amsterdam welcomes prostitution, as they have legalized it, to benefit the economy. The Church in this situation condones so-called “whoredom” as it serves as an outlet for married men whose wives prefer to stay abstinent. At one point in Amsterdam society, prostitution was banned which led to an enormous underground ring of harlot inns. Police men would be bribed, allowing for the ring to continue. Obviously, this was a problem for policemen to be ignoring their duties for money, so eventually, prostitution was legalized. One can assume the situation was the same for Spain, as the Church may have tried to ban adultery and infidelity, but were later deemed unsuccessful, so the Church turned a blind eye to avoid further conflict.

As agree is hard to reach with any topic, there were radical republican groups within Spain, such as Mujeres Libres, of which argued that prostitution was supporting a capitalist lifestyle in Spain. According to Playthings of a Historical Process, women were exploited and treated as playthings, against the morals of the Catholic Church, and yet, the Church did nothing to stop such a movement from continuing. As an audience, it can be inferred that the Church did nothing to stop the movement because of the economic benefit and in a time of need, the same prostitution that was once considered shameful, was now considered sacred. The idea of sacred prostitution was introduced to Spain by the Catholic Church since it appeared to be monetarily useful. Deeming these actions as sacred also ensured a rite of fertility for those who participate, as well as religious protection, according to the Bible. For their own embarrassment and to reduce the amount of harassment being received from the radical groups, sacred prostitution has been the term used for the actions committed during the prostitution era.

To conclude, the reader can see how influential prostitution became to the economy of late 1800’s Spain. Using credible sources regarding adultery, hygiene practices, and the vantage point of the Church, the largely debated argument regarding the perilous era of economic despair faced in Spain can be finalized. The Catholic Church knew about the sins of fornication, but agreed to place their opinions regarding the economical movement to the side for the sake of Spain and uniting the country as one to hopefully return to their former profit and state as a world power. Confidently, one can hope that the reader was able to form their own opinion about the economical status of Spain during this time based on the explanation given of the circumstances. In the eyes of the Catholic Church, the pros of prostitution largely outweighed the cons. Do you think prostitution should be regulated and sustained within any given society with the intention of creating a profitable and steady income?

Recent film and international TV productions have acknowledged the necessity to make visible the debate and discussion presented in this writing. See the following trailers for some of the latest examples in the movie industry: