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João Francisco de Bragança

1763–1763

Born
16 Sep 1763, Palace of Ajuda
Country of birth
Kingdom of Portugal, today Portugal
Died
10 Oct 1763
facts
7
sources
1
images and files
0

Facts and their sources

Tap a fact to see where it comes from.

A life in time

  1. Born · Palace of Ajuda

    Birth, Palace of Ajuda

  2. Died

    Death

What was it like?

The world around Palace of Ajuda, 1763: who ruled, who else was alive, how people lived. This is general history, not a record about the family, and every item shows where it comes from.

When João was born in 1763, Palace of Ajuda belonged to the Kingdom of Portugal, ruled by José I of Portugal.

Who ruled

  • José I of Portugal

    Monarch of Portugal, 1750–1777 · Kingdom of Portugal

Born around the same time

  • Manuel Maria Barbosa du Bocage

    1765 · Portuguese writer

  • Vieira Portuense

    1764 · Portuguese painter

  • Emma, Lady Hamilton

    1765 · Mistress of Lord Nelson (1765-1815)

  • Valentino Fioravanti

    1764 · Italian composer (1764-1837)

  • Gregory XVI

    1765 · Pope of the Catholic Church from 1831 to 1846 (1765–1846)

  • William IV

    1765 · King of the United Kingdom and Hanover from 1830 to 1837

Fashion

Fishermen kept gala outfits for generations

Fishermen wore simple linen breeches during work, but dressed in blue cloth suits for Sundays and kept their finest gala outfits for rare feast days. These precious gala sets were often passed down through generations, from parents to children and even grandchildren.

Linen saved for lifetime festive wear

Villagers painstakingly washed and bleached fine linen to store in wooden trunks, saving these materials to be hand-sewn into special feast-day clothing that would last a lifetime. In contrast, coarser tow-cloth was used for everyday work clothes, which were constantly patched by local seamstresses to maintain them.

Music

Social Gatherings and Entertainment

Private social gatherings often featured music, dancing, and card games, with attendees enjoying tea, chocolate, and sweets. Orchestras or individual musicians were hired, and guests sometimes participated alongside professionals; dancing was so central that admission to events with balls could cost twice as much as those without.

The Popular Fandango Dance

In the 18th century, the fandango became so popular across all social classes that some foreign travelers considered it Portugal's national dance. Originally from Spanish theaters, it was danced by couples using castanets or finger snapping, often in taverns and even convents.

Getting around

Common travel in mule-drawn calashes

Due to poor road conditions, the most common vehicles in Lisbon were two-mule calashes, while traveling by horse or mule was often necessary. A rental calash in the city cost 42 réis per day.

Travel by stubborn pack mules

Travelers frequently used pack mules to move between towns; because these animals were often stubborn and guided by muleteers who stopped often at taverns, passengers faced long delays and the risk of accidents.

Daily life

Costs for lodging and meals in Lisbon

Travelers in Lisbon could stay in rented rooms where daily food, including lunch and dinner, cost 30 réis, while the room itself was charged separately, ranging from 10 to 40 réis. Simpler meals at food houses commonly cost 12 réis.

Storing and transporting water in Lisbon houses

In noble Lisbon households, water for daily consumption was stored in large glazed clay jars or barrels, and was frequently transported to the home on the heads of workers. One specific household paid an employee 2,400 réis monthly to provide this essential water.

Food

Cod as a staple for the poor

Dried and salted cod, known as bacalhau, was a staple protein for ordinary people because it was affordable and easy to store.

Limpets as food for the needy

While fish was a primary food source, shellfish like limpets were often gathered from rocks by the needy as a cheap source of calories.

Prices and wages

Bread prices and weights in the 1700s

When the price of wheat reached 40 réis per arrátel, the price of a loaf of bread was set at 10 réis. During times of scarcity, if the wheat price rose to 500 réis, the weight of the bread loaf was reduced to about 0.3 kg, known as pão de vintém.

Soldiers' wages and miserable conditions

Soldiers often lived on very little, sometimes receiving only food for their labor, and frequently had their wages delayed for months or even years. This resulted in soldiers often being seen wearing ragged and miserable shoes.

Work

Common jobs in mid-18th century Lisbon

Common urban jobs included artisans, street vendors, and various services like fishmongers, hairdressers, and washerwomen. Women frequently worked as independent sellers of bread, fish, and vegetables, while others labored as laundresses or domestic servants.

Daily tasks of enslaved women

Enslaved women known as calhandreiras were tasked with carrying heavy ceramic pots of household waste and dirty water to the beach every day. To avoid the waste thrown from windows, pedestrians were warned by the street cry Água Vai, meaning Here goes water.

Family

Parents

Ancestors and children

Open the full tree

Four generations back to the right, the children to the left. The number beside a child counts the generations of descendants known after them.