Life Intelligence

Life Intelligence

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Life Intelligence
Life Intelligence
Of prostitutes, thieves, Jews, and kings.
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Trails and Tales

Of prostitutes, thieves, Jews, and kings.

The Lisbon adventure continue.

Valentina Petrova's avatar
Valentina Petrova
Feb 01, 2025
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Life Intelligence
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Of prostitutes, thieves, Jews, and kings.
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I wanted to get these thoughts out and tell you a story. Yes, there are a bunch of pictures from Lisbon, too.

This is a bonus post for my paid subscribers. I appreciate your support!!!

This story goes back to November 1, 1755, a few months before the United States Declaration of Independence was signed. The two events have nothing to do with each other but provide a context of time and suggest that what has been may suddenly shatter.

It was All Saints Day in Portugal, and all the respectable, God-loving town's people of Lisbon went to church to hear the Lord's wisdom before heading over to watch heretics denounce themselves in front of the inquisitors on the public square or be subjected to the death penalty or imprisonment for life and risk their property being confiscated.

Sadly, denouncing one's self was insufficient. To rejoin The Church and avoid punishment, the accused had to denounce other heretics they knew of. They, in turn, had a 30-day grace period to come forward, denounce themselves (and others), or else. Salvation was promised to the sincerely faithful and devout.

Meanwhile, in the oldest neighborhood of Lisbon, Alfama, found by the Moors in the 8th century, society's rejects conducted their daily affairs trying to survive. Prostitutes sang Fado, mournful, melancholic, lamenting their fate. Thieves looked for pockets to pick and someone to swindle. Drunk sailors staggered and tripped over the cobbles in the narrow streets. The fisherman went about their morning routines, dragging nets and readying their boats.

Jews tried to blend into the walls to avoid harassment. Ridiculed as "New Christians" because King Manuel converted them by decree in 1497, they felt less than welcome anywhere else, especially after the massacre of 1506 when between 500 – 4000 of them died. The "faithful" blamed them for the drought and plague sweeping through the country at the time.

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