This study describes three collections of texts published in the years following the 1755 earthquake in Lisbon. Housed at archives and libraries in Portugal, the texts represent a variety of literary genres and strategies of argumentation. Here they have been analyzed according to pre-established categories. They were written during a time of transition characterized by ideological hesitations and by an eclecticism of conservative bent, a time when the latest experimentalist currents coexisted alongside attempts to reconcile scholastic Aristotelianism and experimentalism. The study focuses on a narrower set of texts, of special interest to the history of science; these can be classified into one of two topics: (i) physical explanations for the earth tremors and (ii) hygienist concerns about this type of natural disaster.
Lisbon earthquake (1755); collections; texts
