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

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on the earthquakes. The account of the earthquakes given by Thomas Wilson (1964, pp. 230-235) and Horace Walpole (1750, Chapter 20) offer perhaps the best accounts of the earthquakes and their effect on the populace, one each from a religious man and a secular man, who felt themselves personally affected by the earthquakes and yet sought not to be caught up in the hysteria of the moment. Wilson's account is particularly interesting because he was a preacher and, therefore, a member of the group often blamed for drumming up hysteria about the earthquakes. Wilson's account notes his fear of the physical impact of the earthquakes. This, combined with his ability to calmly note the weather lends credence to the reports that the earthquakes must have been of significant magnitude to frighten even the most calm individuals. He denounces, however, the more hysterical responses to the earthquakes, including such responses by members of his own profession. Wilson's account is significant because of his day-to-day reports of what is happening as well as his accounting of people's increased interest in his sermons. His report, therefore, offers support for other writers' account of the townspeople's hysterical responses without itself

Category: Science - E