Latest / The History of Portugal: The Small Nation That Built a Global Empire — Fexingo History / The Portuguese Crown Jewels and the 1755 Lisbon Earthquake
Transcript
- Lucas: So we've talked a lot about Portugal's empire — the ships, the forts, the trade routes. But I realized we've never actually looked at what the crown itself held onto. The physical symbols of royal power. Luna: You mean the crown jewels? Lucas: Exactly. And the story of the Portuguese crown jewels is wild — it involves earthquakes, a diamond rush, and a last-minute escape to Brazil. Let's start with the most famous piece: the Sceptre of the Armillary Sphere. That's the golden rod topped with a globe and the armillary sphere — the symbol of Portuguese exploration. It was made for King João V in the early 1700s. Lucas: João V was the absolute monarch who flooded Portugal with Brazilian gold. He wanted his regalia to rival Louis XIV's. So he commissioned this sceptre, encrusted with diamonds and emeralds from Minas Gerais. But here's the thing — it almost didn't survive the 1755 earthquake. Luna: Wait, the jewels were in Lisbon during the earthquake? Lucas: They were. The royal palace on the Terreiro do Paço — now Praça do Comércio — collapsed. But the jewels were kept in a strongroom in the Casa da Moeda, the mint. That building held, barely. The tsunami hit right after, but the strongroom stayed sealed. So the sceptre, the crown, the collars — they survived. Luna: That's incredible. What about the São Jorge Diamond? I've heard that name. Lucas: The São Jorge Diamond is a huge, pale blue diamond — about 120 carats. It was found in Minas Gerais around 1760, during the diamond rush that followed the gold rush. The Portuguese Crown confiscated it — all large diamonds were supposed to belong to the king. It was set into a necklace or a pendant, and it became part of the royal treasury. Lucas: But the diamond's story gets messy. When Napoleon's army marched on Portugal in 1807, the royal family fled to Brazil. They took the crown jewels with them — packed in crates, loaded onto ships under cover of night. The São Jorge Diamond went with them. Luna: So the jewels ended up in Rio de Janeiro? Lucas: Yes, for about 14 years. The court set up in Rio, and the jewels were kept in the Imperial Palace there. But after King João VI returned to Portugal in 1821, the jewels came back — mostly. There are persistent stories that some pieces were lost or sold in Brazil. The Braganza tiara, for example — a diamond tiara said to have belonged to Queen Maria I — its whereabouts are unknown after the flight. Luna: So there's a missing tiara? Lucas: Officially, it's in the royal collection in Lisbon, but some historians think the one on display today is a replica — that the original was pawned in Brazil to fund the court's expenses. It's one of those mysteries that keeps popping up. Lucas: Another piece with a wild story is the Crown of João V. It's made of gold, with eight arches, and covered in diamonds and rubies. It was used for the acclamation of monarchs — not for everyday wear. During the earthquake, it was saved by a royal official who broke into the damaged strongroom. He later wrote about pulling it from under a beam. Luna: That must have been terrifying. Lucas: Absolutely. And then, during the Napoleonic flight, the crown was smuggled in a crate marked 'books'. If the French had caught it, it would have been melted down for gold. That nearly happened to many European crown jewels. Lucas: But the Portuguese collection survived intact — at least what's in the national museum today. You can see the Sceptre of the Armillary Sphere and the Crown of João V at the Palácio Nacional da Ajuda in Lisbon. They're behind glass, but you can clearly see the craftsmanship. Luna: It's amazing that something so fragile made it through all that chaos. Lucas: Yeah, and honestly, if today was worth a coffee to you, that's the link — buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. It helps us keep doing deep dives like this without ads. Luna: Totally. Every bit of support goes into research and production. Lucas: So back to the jewels — another fascinating angle is how the diamonds themselves were mined. The rush in Minas Gerais was brutal. Slaves worked in terrible conditions, and the crown enforced a monopoly, the 'Royal Diamond Contract'. All large stones had to be handed over. That's how the São Jorge Diamond came into the treasury. Luna: So the crown jewels are literally built on enslaved labor. Lucas: Exactly. And that's a hard truth. The diamonds and gold that funded the Age of Absolutism in Portugal came from Brazil, mined by enslaved Africans. The regalia are beautiful, but they're also symbols of exploitation. Lucas: There's also the mystery of the 'Tower of Belém' treasure — a rumor that during the earthquake, some jewels were hidden in the Torre de Belém and later lost. No evidence, but it's a persistent legend. Luna: I love that — history and myth mixed together. Lucas: That's Portugal for you. The real story is dramatic enough: a crown saved from an earthquake, diamonds smuggled across the Atlantic, and a missing tiara that may still be in a Rio de Janeiro vault. The jewels are like a physical timeline of the empire's rise and fall. Luna: And they're still around for us to see today. Lucas: Exactly. Next time you're in Lisbon, you can go see them. But for now, I think we've covered the glittering side of Portuguese history. There's a lot more to unpack about the diamond trade itself — maybe another episode. Luna: I'd love that. Thanks, Lucas.