Discussing the age of the Earth in 1779 in Portugal

Abstract

In 1779 a paper in Portuguese was published in Jornal Enciclopedico, Lisbon, on the age of the Earth. 'Defending the Chronology of the Holy Scripture' was written by A. F. Castrioto, who published in the same issue an essay on philosophy and religion attacking the French Encyclopaedists. The paper was mainly a translation of sections from two books, by Edward Gibbon and Richard Watson, the former supporting the idea of an age of 14 000 years for the Earth and the latter defending an age of some 6000 years. Castrioto possibly published the paper and the essay because in 1778 he had been subject to religious censorship and he wanted to reassure the authorities that he was not impious. The idea of a young Earth prevailed in Portugal in the 1700s. Castrioto's paper presented arguments that are not original; he omitted ideas of naturalists that were not in accordance with his own ideas; and he apparently used his periodical to redeem himself of past 'sins'. However, the paper had merits: it was about a geological subject not commonly discussed in Portugal at the time and was possibly the first on that topic to be published there; the author was aware of the discussion on science and religion that was going on abroad; he defended ideas that were accepted at the time by many naturalists; and he produced a paper of interest for the history of geology in Portugal and for the history of creationism.