Textos impresos sobre el origen de los terremotos y tsunamis a mediados del siglo XVIII: circulación de ideas entre los territorios de la América española y la metrópoli

Abstract

In this research work, a series of knowledge related to the origin of earthquakes and tsunamis during the eighteenth century is analyzed, taking into account the flow of information between the different domains of Spanish America and the metropolis. Precisely in the mid-eighteenth century, there was a concentration of catastrophes such as those that occurred in Lima and El Callao in 1746, Concepción in 1751, Santo Domingo in 1751, Quito in 1755 and the devastating earthquake and tsunami of November 1, 1755, whose epicenter was located in Cabo de San Vicente (Portugal). These disasters motivated the circulation of different documents, where different interpretations are proposed about the causes of these natural phenomena. In this case, mainly printed documents such as reports of events, sermons and texts concerning this matter were used, in order to systematize the opinions and try to find some type of structure in these messages that, being edited, suppose greater care in the speech.

Keywords

• 18th century
• Spanish America
• earthquakes
• tsunamis
• flow of knowledge