ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the extent to which physical stature can be a useful proxy for the welfare of Spaniards in the early twentieth century as it was believed by Spanish hygienists at the time. In France a high coefficient of correlation between stature and literacy was found for the years 1820-1830. Spanish conscripts were expected to satisfy certain physical qualifications for the military. Conscripts from Galicia were among the shortest in Spain. A minimum height was required for parade troops, for hand to hand fighting, for the cavalry, for loading guns and even for handling firearms. Soldiers in the cavalry and in the mountain artillery corps had to be taller than the infantry. In 1896, Oloriz y Aguilera assumed that the mean height of conscripts was similar to that of the whole male population.
