Queen Maria Isabel of Spain

Maria Isabel of Braganza was a Portuguese infanta who became Queen of Spain as the second wife of King Ferdinand VII.

Extending clothing life through repairs

To maintain appearance, clothing was often repaired with patches or worn items were turned inside out by tailors once they became frayed from use.

Linen for life and coarse work clothes

In Lousada, families stored fine linen for a lifetime to create feast-day clothing and religious vestments, while coarse tow fabric was used for everyday and work clothes.

Fandango as a popular tavern dance

The fandango was a popular dance of courtship and seduction, often performed in taverns by ordinary people to the sound of the viola. Dancers marked the beat with their feet and castanets, or by snapping their fingers if castanets were unavailable.

Regulation and costs of festival music

Under a 1766 regulation, professional music directors were required to pay one tostão for every festival they directed. They also had to submit annual reports detailing the number of singers and instrumentalists involved and the amount each was paid.

Introduction of the Mala-posta Stagecoach

In 1798, a new public stagecoach service known as the mala-posta was established between Lisbon and Coimbra to improve travel for people and mail.

Lisbon to Coimbra by post carriage

In 1804, a post carriage (mala-posta) route between Lisbon and Coimbra took 40 hours, but the service was suspended shortly after due to high costs and low profits.

Typical urban housing and layout

Urban houses often had a functional layout where the kitchen was placed on the top floor, partly for safety against fire, while ground floors were used for shops or workshops. Living quarters were often cramped, with high buildings blocking sunlight and providing poor insulation against the weather.

Water access and cooking methods

Water was scarce and expensive, sometimes costing twenty times more than in London, and was often collected from public fountains or wells. Cooking for many poor families was done over three stones, as indoor fireplaces were relatively rare in the Portuguese climate.

Corn bread lasted eight days

Families baked large corn bread loaves every eight days and stored them hanging from a rafter, while wheat bread was reserved only for special feasts.

Poor families shared one sardine

For many poor families, a typical dinner consisted only of bread, potatoes, and a single sardine, with the mother often eating the head and dividing the rest among her children.

Ox meat prices in Porto

In Porto, the price of ox meat rose from 36 réis per arrátel in 1780 to 47 réis by 1783, eventually reaching 63 réis by 1798.

Staple foods in early 1800s Penafiel

In the early 19th century town of Penafiel, essential goods such as wheat and corn were recorded as consumer staples.