Good Example Of We Can Recreate The Council That Met Right After The Earthquake To Take Account Of Survivors. Characters Include: Essay

Presentation:

King Joseph I of Portugal
the Prime Minister (Marquis de Pombal), who was at The Great Lisbon Earthquake: the 1755 “Newscast”
menace to conservative way of life
argues with priest Malagrida, who claimed that the earthquake was a sign of God’s wrath.
a priest
a philosopher (Voltaire)
a chief magistrate who enforced the law on those who were looting
2 scientists

DIALOGUE

Characters:
King Joseph I of Portugal: Vasif
Marquis de Pombal: Cara
Voltaire: Karolina
Artists: Mishael/Sultana
Priest Malagrida: Stephanie
Scientists: Christina/Reem
King: I am King Joseph I of Portugal. I am here with Prime Minister Marquis de Pombal, Voltaire, Paris and Pedagache, our invited artists, Priest Malagrida, and representative citizens, There has been a major tragedy in our city. We have gathered here today to help rebuild our dear city which has been unfortunately destroyed. We have two sisters here today to tell their story.
Artists: tell personal story of what happened during you have to describe in a lot of detail what you saw based on the readings.
Mishael: It was the most terrible thing I have ever seen! The waters of the ocean swept backwards toward the horizon, marooning the ships and boats in the harbor. It was as if the ocean was being moved by the hand of God. Sultana and I were lucky to be far above the commotion. Then, the waters lurched forward in 20 foot swells, destroying the wharfs and leveling all the buildings in sight.
Sultana: It was horrific. I could see the ships sinking and thousands of my countrymen drowning far below me as I stood on the cliff high above the chaos. I began to panic as I remembered my brothers, sisters, father, and mother all remained below. They all perished in the waves. Then the buildings that remained standing began to shoot up in flames, and I started praying for an end to the nightmare.
Pombal: thank you for your accounts on this disastrous event. Scientists, shall you inform us of the deaths, do you have any information on how much we have lost?

Scientists: talk about details

Past events
time of day the disaster took place

Deaths

Level of destruction
Pombal: What can we do about it? I reckon that the most urgent would be getting rid of of the corpses laying in the streets of our dear city. We shall proceed to sink them in the Tagus, for there is no space for burial.
Priest Malagrida: Despiteful! How dare you not give those unfortunate souls proper burial? This is a calamity! Nothing can be done! This is God’s wrath expressed upon the citizens of Lisbon!!! We are being punished for our sinful acts, and we must take it as a sign that we must change our ways.
(Mention the prophetic significance of the earthquake striking on All Saints Day, a Catholic festival)
“It was therefore prophetic that the 1755 earthquake hit shortly before 10 a.m. on All Saints Day, Saturday, November 1, one of the most important Catholic festivals of the year.”
Scientist: We must accept the improper burial of the bodies in order to prevent a plague from striking the survivors, the entire city is beginning to reek of death.
Voltaire: You should consider that nature is an uncontrollable force, it’s not in our sinful acts that have produced this catastrophe, it is nature itself. How can you claim that the hundreds of children that have perished in the ashes are being punished for their sins? they are only children for crying out loud! We are behaving ignorantly, believing that this event is nothing but a punishment! Use your reason please!

Scientist:

. (Christina) We have heard that it happened in nearby countries so it could not have been God avenging us
. (Reem) We must accept responsibility and stray away from the notion of supernatural causation.
Pombal: It is clear that it is time we finally take matters into our own hands. We need to reconstruct our great Lisbon to be able to withstand such disastrous events. The world has already heard of our tragedy and began to send us aid. I have come up with new structures called Pombalesque facades. If we reconstruct our buildings in such a manner, we will be better prepared if such a disaster were to occur again.

King: Yes, yes, I agree. But where will I live?!

Pombal: We must also prepare some way to warn people if this happens again. We will alert our citizens to stay far away from the shores and head for the hills if they feel such a horrible shake, as it may once again be followed by the disastrous waves from the ocean.
King: I have listened to all of you, and I have made my final decisionPombal, continue with your plans to reconstruct the city. But first! Begin with my castle. And, unfortunately for you, Malagrida, we cannot remain attached to your ideals, we need to leave aside God’s wrath against us and commence lisbon’s rebirth.

Priest: You would disregard God’s Will?! I refuse to to accept this!

King: Off with your head!
Our main idea was to recreate the council that met right after the earthquake to take account of survivors. The characters that we included in our dialogue are King Joseph I of Portugal, Marquis de Pombal, Voltaire, two artists, two scientists, and a priest. They discuss the tragedy that took place,, and the Marquis de Pombal and the preist argue over whether the earthquake was an act of god or a force of nature. Pombal suggests that they take matters into their own hands and rebuild the city. The king eventually agrees and urges that they all forgo superstitious ways.
Before the earthquake in 1755, Lisbon was one of the most beautiful cities in the world. The earthquake, which occurred at 9:40 am on Saturday November 1, coincided with the holiday All Saint's Day. The earthquake destroyed Lisbon almost completely. Seismologists estimate the magnitude of the earthquake to have been in the range 8.5-9.0 on the Richter scale.
The visual interpretations of the Earthquake have been represented in illustrations, paintings, and engravings. The images that have been created of the earthquake blend themes of man's struggle against nature and nature's power against man. Dramatic renditions from the late eighteenth century portray the devastation of the event. The 1755 Lisbon earthquake has affected contemporary visual culture in that it introduced the theme of man vs nature into art expression.
The depictions of the earthquake show it to be one of the most powerful seismic events in recorded European history. Many saw the earthquake and subsequent tsunami and fires as evidence of God's wrath, and it is still a subject of theological debate today. There are an extensive number of renderings of the event and they all demonstrate the dramatic effect it had on the continent of Europe. Today these fanciful renditions affect contemporary art by inspiring artists to explore the themes of man against nature and God's dominance over mankind.