Jorge Maria O'Neill

Music

Wind bands played at festivals

Amateur wind bands were essential at festivals, performing music during religious processions and competing against each other in organized bandstand performances.

Daily life

Inequality in children's education

While upper-class children received careful private education often involving foreign governesses, children of the poor had almost no schooling and were frequently found begging in the streets.

What it cost

The molhadura contract tradition

In rural areas, workers were sometimes hired through a traditional practice called the molhadura, where a capataz paid for a glass of brandy to seal a weekly employment contract. This custom was compared to a human meat auction due to the lack of regulation.

What people wore

Traditional attire of Portuguese fishermen

Fishermen often wore simple work clothes, including linen trousers reaching the knee, a wool cap, and a sleeveless vest called a sertum. They only wore jackets in cold weather and saved elaborate, formal suits for special occasions like weddings or feast days.

Getting around

Oporto to Póvoa railway travel costs

In 1898, an 18-mile steam-powered rail journey from Oporto to Póvoa de Varzim took 90 minutes and cost 540 réis for a first-class ticket.

At the table

High Cost of Basic Nutrition

Ordinary families typically spent 60 percent of their income on food, yet many still struggled to eat well.