João de Bragança

Music

Social Gatherings and Entertainment

Private social gatherings often featured music, dancing, and card games, with attendees enjoying tea, chocolate, and sweets. Orchestras or individual musicians were hired, and guests sometimes participated alongside professionals; dancing was so central that admission to events with balls could cost twice as much as those without.

Daily life

Costs for lodging and meals in Lisbon

Travelers in Lisbon could stay in rented rooms where daily food, including lunch and dinner, cost 30 réis, while the room itself was charged separately, ranging from 10 to 40 réis. Simpler meals at food houses commonly cost 12 réis.

What it cost

Bread prices and weights in the 1700s

When the price of wheat reached 40 réis per arrátel, the price of a loaf of bread was set at 10 réis. During times of scarcity, if the wheat price rose to 500 réis, the weight of the bread loaf was reduced to about 0.3 kg, known as pão de vintém.

What people wore

Fishermen kept gala outfits for generations

Fishermen wore simple linen breeches during work, but dressed in blue cloth suits for Sundays and kept their finest gala outfits for rare feast days. These precious gala sets were often passed down through generations, from parents to children and even grandchildren.

Getting around

Travel in luxury via mule-drawn litters

Wealthy individuals traveled between cities in litters, which were carriage-like boxes pulled by mules, at a cost of 80,000 to 90,000 réis for a journey between Lisbon and Porto.

At the table

Regulated bread weight during scarcity

Bread prices were regulated, and during times of scarcity, a loaf known as pão de vintém would be sold with a reduced weight of approximately 0.3 kg.