7S2 
l I S. 
was erefted into a bi/hopric in the fifth century; and, 
•when it was retaken from the Moors by Don Alphonfo, 
the bishopric was re-eftablilhed by pope Eugenius III. 
and, in the year 1390, it was erected into an archbishopric. 
In the year 1706, pope Clement XL confecrated a chapel 
in the king’s palace, as a patriarchal church, and granted 
it a chapter.' The patriarch is generally a cardinal, and 
exercifes his epifcopal functions in this chapel. Lifbon 
is a place of great trade, and many foreign merchants, 
both catholic and proteftant, refide here, English, French, 
Dutch, &c. being the grand magazine of all goods brought 
from Brafil and other colonies belonging to the Portu- 
guefe. 
The Portuguefe compute the length of the city at two 
leagues; and the distance from Belem to the eaitern extre¬ 
mity is Stated by Link to be a full German mile, or about 
four Englifli miles and a half. The breadth of the town 
js very various, often but (mall, and fometimes quite in- 
confiderable, not exceeding one Street, but never much more 
than half a league. It formerly contained Several magni¬ 
ficent churches, fifty colleges and convents, two elegant 
palaces, a caltle commanding the town, and feveral hand¬ 
some Squares. It was lurrounded by a Single wall, on which 
were feventy-Seven antique towers of no great Strength. 
On the river fide it had twenty-fix gates, and on the land 
fide Seventeen. The Streets were narrow and dirty, and fome 
of them very Steep. The houfes of the citizens were ge¬ 
nerally very mean; but thofe of the nobility and gentry 
were built with Stone, and exhibited an elegant appear¬ 
ance. 
Such was the State of this city, previous to the fatal 1 ft 
of November, 1755, when, about ten o’clock in the morn¬ 
ing, the air remarkably ferene, without the lead warning 
except a rumbling noife which immediately preceded it, 
a dreadful earthquake Shook, by Short but quick vibra¬ 
tions, the foundations of the whole place, loofening the 
Stones from their cement; and then, with fcarcely a per¬ 
ceptible paufe, the motion changed, and every building 
was toSTed like a waggon driven violently over rough 
Stones, which laid in ruins almoSt every houfe, church, 
and public building, with incredible Slaughter of people. 
It continued about fix minutes, during which time the 
grinding of the walls, the fall of churches, the lamenta¬ 
ble cries of the inhabitants, joined to a perfeft darknefs 
occasioned by duft, made one of the dreadfullelt fcenes of 
nature; the river, which forms a great bay oppofife the 
town, was equally disturbed ; its bed in many places was 
raifed to its furface; Ships were driven from their anchors, 
and joStled together with great violence; nor did the maf- 
ters know if they were afloat or on ground; at the fame 
time a large key adjoining to the cuftom-houfe, called the 
Cays Depreda, was fwallowed up with about 150 people; 
beneath the bar was feen dry from Shore to Shore; then 
iuddenly the fea like a mountain came rolling in, and 
about Belem the water rofe fifty feet in an inftant; and, 
had it not been for the great bay to receive and Spread 
the great flux, the low part of the city mult have been 
under water ; as it was, it came up to the houfes, and 
drove the inhabitants to the hills. To finish the calamity, 
fires fucceeded the fame hour in many places at once, 
before the people could recover themfelves; the principal 
part of the city, the cuftom-houfe, the palace, India-houfe, 
opera-houfe, the great houfe of the Braganzas, where the 
crown-jewels were lodged, and the caftle, were confirmed, 
befides churches, and other public buildings, as Corpus 
Santi, the Carmelites, the patriarchal church, Mifericor- 
dia hofpitals, palace and prifons of the inquifition, the 
church of St. Domingo and library, all the colleges of the 
jefuits, regular canons of St. Fara, the old cathedral pri¬ 
fons of Limairia, and courts of juftice, St. Francis de De- 
feada, the nunnery of Santa Clara, and the convent of Cal- 
varis, with a multitude of others of inferior note. There 
fucceeded two great (hocks, one in about ten minutes, the 
other about two hours after, which though Short threw 
down many of the Shattered buildings. 
BON. 
“The terror of the people was beyond defcription ; no* 
body wept, it was beyond tears; they ran hither and thi¬ 
ther, delirious with horror and aftoniShment, beating their 
faces and breafts; crying, Mifericordia, the world is at an 
end. Mothers forgot their children, and ran about loaded 
with crucifixed images. Unfortunately many ran to the 
churches for protection; but in vain was the hoft expofed, 
in vain did the poor creatures embrace the altars; images, 
priefts, and people, were buried in one common ruin; it 
happened likewise to be the great festival of All Saints, 
fo that the churches were crowded, and the multitude of 
candles burning on that occafion Set them on fire imme¬ 
diately, which communicating to the houfes, great num¬ 
bers, Still living under the ruins, were burnt to death. 
After the firft Shock, many priefts of the few Standing 
churches took the pictures of their faints, and went among 
the ruined Streets, attended by fome of their congregations 
in proceSfion; the eSFeft of which was, many perished that 
might have eScaped. Some, willing to do a meritorious 
aft on this occafion, laid hold of a young Englifli gentle¬ 
man, who could not fpeak a word of the language, and 
christened him by force; it was happy their folly went 
no further, which fome gentlemen had reafon to fear; for 
the people were, told it was a judgment for fuffering 
heretics among them. 
“ The profpedt of the city was deplorable. As you 
paSTed along the ftreets you faw Shops of goods with the 
Shopkeepers buried with them, fome alive crying out from 
under the ruins, others half buried, others with broken 
limbs, in vain begging for help ; they were paSTed by 
crowds without the leaft notice or fenfe of humanity. 
The people lay in the field that night, which equalled if 
poSfible the horrors of the day. The city all in flames ; 
and, if you happened to forget yourfelf with Sleep, you 
were awakened by the tremblings of the earth and the 
bowlings of the people. Yet the moon Shone, and the 
Stars, with unufual brightnefs. Long-wiShed-for day at 
laft appeared, and the fun rofe with great fplendour on 
the defolated city in the morning. Some of the bolded, 
whofe houfes were not burnt, ventured home for clothes, 
the want of which they had feverely felt in the night, 
and a blanket was now become of more value than a fuit 
of Silk ; but many were deterred from attemping this by 
their priefts, who taught them, that, as it was a judgment 
from God, it was a fin to endeavour avoiding its confe- 
quence. After the fire, the profpeft of the city was Still 
more miferable; bodies half-burnt, horfes, mules, and 
afies, half-burnt, and Still living. A banditti began plun¬ 
dering from the firft, and extended the fires, fo that the 
city burnt for fix days. By degrees huts and tents were 
erefted, in which the naked inhabitants made the beft 
Shift they could. The killed according to the Jefuits’ 
accounts amounted to 90,000 ; others reduced it to 50,000, 
and fome to 30,000. Some inclofed in the ruins of the 
firSt Shock were fet at liberty by the fucceeding ones; and 
many were taken out of the ruins feveral days, after.” 
Gent. Mag. for Feb. 1756. 
When this calamity was known in England, money 
w r as voted for the furviving fuSFerers by parliament, and 
private fubfcriptions were entered into. Provisions and 
clothing were fent over, and even workmen to aSfift in. 
rebuilding the city. The confequence has been, that the 
new ftreets, erefted in the place of the old, are capacious, re¬ 
gular, and well paved, with convenient path-ways for 
foot-paflengers, as in the ftreets of London. The houfes 
are lofty, uniform, and Strong, The manner of building 
them is rather Angular : the carpenter is the firft employ¬ 
ed ; when he has raifed the Skeleton of frame-work, the 
mafon is then employed to fill up the interftices with rub- 
ble-Stone and brick. The reafon they aflign for building 
in this manner is, that the concatenation of the walls with 
the wood-work contributes to refift the Slight concuSfions 
of earthquakes with which this city is fo often vilited. 
The firft ftory of each dwelling-houfe, when not convert¬ 
ed into a Shop, is a magazine for merchandife of One kind 
os 
