Rumours and shipwrecks: on news and popularity in the 16th and 17th centuries

• Autor(a) principal: Belo, André
• Data de Publicação: 2022
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: por
• Título da fonte: ArtCultura (Online)
• Texto Completo: https://seer.ufu.br/index.php/artcultura/article/view/66577
• topic: rumores; relatos de naufrágio; popularidade; rumours; narratives of shipwrecks; popularity

This essay discusses the relation between certain texts and the previous circulation of news and messages in the social world, in Portugal and in Europe during the Early Modern Period. The research is based on three different examples from the late 16th century and early 17th century: the German pamphlets referring to the Battle of the Three Kings, in which king Sebastian died (4th August 1578); the circulation of rumours in Portugal about the survival of the same king after the battle and during the episode of the false king Sebastian of Venice (1598-1603); and a few well-known shipwreck narratives from the same period, in particular the sinking of the ship of Jorge de Albuquerque Coelho, captain of Pernambuco. The popularity of this pamphlet is discussed in relation to the fact that the inhabitants of Lisbon were able to see the wreck of the ship for weeks, after its “miraculous” salvation. The participation of Albuquerque Coelho in the battle of the Three Kings allows us to close the circle of an interpretation in which the different media of news circulation are not considered isolated, but through a set of interactions – from orality to printed text – that can be deduced from the sources.