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Earthquakes of 1750

Perhaps the most significant distinction that can be made between the secondary reports of Lecky and Langford and that of Speck is that the former attribute the prediction of the third earthquake to "a crazy soldier" and "a lunatic trooper," respectively, while the latter attributes the prediction to "a dissenting minister." This distinction is significant because it highlights two issues that must be considered when reading the reports. First, on what information is the reporter basing his report? Second, how does the reporter address the divine implications with which the earthquakes were credited?

Lecky culls his account of the hysteria surrounding the earthquakes from several contemporary sources. However, he betrays his point of view in the first sentence of the quoted report. He begins by stating that "The Strong spirit of superstitious terror which existed in England was most impressively shown on the occasion of the earthquakes of 1750" (Lecky 1891, pp. 647-648). Clearly, therefore, his interest is in proving his thesis that the English of 1750 were a superstitious people and the rhetoric of his report is intended to support this thesis. For example, he refers to the earthquakes as "shocks," which immediately demonstrates his choice to conflate the physical phenomenon of the earthquakes into the physical, mental and emotional responses of the people who experienced them. He calls April 8 "the fatal day" and describes the city dwellers as "frantic[]", "awestruck" and "affrighted (Lecky, 1891, pp. 647-648). Lecky, therefore, seems primarily interested in recreating this aura of "superstitious terror."

Langford's report covers the same historical ground as Lecky's, yet his report is much less hyberbolic. He, too, notes religious leaders use of the earthquakes, but his rhetoric is more subdued. For example, he calls the atmosphere in the cities as one of "anxiety" and never calls up the hysterical images that Lecky...

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Earthquakes of 1750. (1969, December 31). In LotsofEssays.com. Retrieved 05:54, March 29, 2024, from https://www.lotsofessays.com/viewpaper/1688700.html