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Constança Maria de Mendoça Rolim de Moura Barreto, Duchess of Loulé

1826–1879

Born
7 Jun 1826, Lisbon
Country of birth
Kingdom of Portugal, today Portugal
Died
18 Oct 1879, Cascais
facts
6
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 · Lisbon

    Birth, Lisbon

  2. Child born: Maria Domingas José de Mendoça Rolim de Moura Barreto, 3rd Duchess of Loulé

    Birth

  3. Child born: Ana de Jesus Maria de Mendoça Rolim de Moura Barreto

    Birth, Lisbon

  4. Died · Cascais

    Death, Cascais

What was it like?

The world around Lisbon, 1826: 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 Constança was born in 1826, Lisbon belonged to the Kingdom of Portugal, ruled by John VI of Portugal.

Who ruled

  • John VI of Portugal

    Monarch of Portugal, 1816–1826 · Kingdom of Portugal

  • Maria II of Portugal

    Monarch of Portugal, 1826–1828 · Kingdom of Portugal

  • Miguel I of Portugal

    Monarch of Portugal, 1828–1834 · Kingdom of Portugal

Born around the same time

  • José Rodrigues

    1828 · Portuguese painter (1828-1887)

  • Jules Verne

    1828 · French writer (1828–1905)

  • Henrik Ibsen

    1828 · Norwegian playwright and theatre director (1828–1906)

  • Henry Dunant

    1828 · Swiss businessman and co-founder of the Red Cross (1828-1910)

  • Dante Gabriel Rossetti

    1828 · English poet, illustrator, painter, and translator (1828-1882)

  • Hippolyte Taine

    1828 · French literary critic and historian (1828-1893)

Fashion
Around 1825–1825

Political fashion and changing waistlines

Following the 1820 constitutional changes, fashionable Portuguese women adopted blue and white accessories like ribbons, plumes, and scarves, sometimes featuring allegorical messages and emblems. By 1825, the fashion of wearing long, natural-waistline dresses was definitively adopted, replacing the earlier high-waisted styles.

Gold jewelry in Madeiran peasant dress

In Madeira, well-to-do countrywomen were identified by gold chains, which they wrapped twice around their necks and fastened to the lower part of their bright, sometimes embroidered bodices. For men and women, fine linen shirts were fastened with buttons that were sometimes made of gold.

Music

Music in the royal chapel

In the royal chapel, organists sometimes played airs that were considered too tender and voluptuous for the solemnity of church services. Religious ceremonies were spectacles that combined music, incense, and lights to deeply move the kneeling crowds.

The origins of Fado

Fado emerged in 19th-century Lisbon as a spontaneous music form sung in taverns, streets, and homes, often associated with marginalized figures like sailors and coachmen. Performers often improvised poetry about love and daily life, sometimes accompanied by guitars.

Getting around

Reliance on River and Coastal Travel

Due to the lack of adequate roads and public transport, river and coastal sea travel were essential, though they were often slow, uncomfortable, and risky. In one recorded instance, a boat trip between Alhandra and Lisbon stalled due to low tide and fog, forcing passengers to wait until midnight to reach their destination.

Surprising Mule Travel Hazards

Travelers often rode mules on pack saddles without stirrups, reins, or bits, allowing the animals to follow their own familiar paths between pine trees. Because the animals were trained to recognize taverns, they would often break into a gallop upon spotting one, forcing passengers to crouch to avoid hitting their heads on the door frames.

Daily life

Informal school-house learning environments

Schooling often took place in informal settings known as a school-house, where the teacher's living space was combined with classrooms. These spaces frequently retained a domestic atmosphere, sometimes using household objects alongside specialized items like Lancasterian slates.

Limited water, hygiene, and cooking facilities

Ordinary households lacked running water and sewage systems, often relying on expensive or difficult water collection methods; hygiene was rudimentary, and many urban dwellings were occupied by multiple families. Heating and lighting were limited, and in many popular homes, cooking was done over three stones rather than on stoves.

Food

Daily routines and tavern meals

Workers often started their day at 6 am with a mata-bicho, consisting of bread and a glass of aguardente, before heading to work. Frequent tavern meals were also common, where men might eat half a loaf of bread, some mackerel, and a quartilho (about 0.5 liters) of wine.

Staple foods of ordinary families

Ordinary families typically ate broa (corn bread), sardines, and soup made of vegetables, potatoes, and beans. Meat and fish were scarce, making sardines a staple for the poor, often rubbed against bread to add flavor.

Prices and wages
Around 1834–1834

Essential food prices in 1834

In 1834, in the town of Atalaia, wheat bread cost 30 réis per arrátel, while meat was significantly more expensive, with beef costing 70 réis per arrátel.

Around 1834–1834

Staple food costs in 1834

In 1834, other affordable food staples in Atalaia included goat meat at 35 réis per arrátel and corn at 300 réis per alqueire.

Work

Long working hours and child labor

Agricultural work typically lasted from sunrise to sunset, often spanning sixteen hours during the long summer days. Peasants relied on manual labor with tools like flails for threshing, and children began working at very early ages, such as guiding ox-carts or herding animals.

Wages and daily sustenance of laborers

Daily wages for laborers varied significantly by region and task, with a Douro day laborer earning 200 réis and a Lisbon mason earning 700 réis. Workers often had to provide their own food, typically consisting of black bread, olives, and salted cod, while those on seasonal contracts might sleep in bare communal sheds.

During their lifetime

  1. 1846

    Maria da Fonte Riots (1846)

    The Maria da Fonte riots broke out in 1846 due to new taxes and health laws, sparking civil war and social turmoil among the peasantry.

Family

Parents

Spouses

Children

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.