Recalibrating the July 8th, 1730 Valparaiso, Chile earthquake: giving historical context to primary sources

Abstract

This paper uses historical data from letters, reports, and court cases to reconstruct earthquake damage and tsunami flooding levels from the July 8^th, 1730 Valparaiso, Chile earthquake.  Each selected primary source is analyzed to recreate the seismic sequence and clarify the size and arrival times of the associated tsunami.  This exercise demonstrates that the earthquake´s primary damage zone was between La Serena and Santo Domingo and not further South as previously hypothesized.  Finally, it shows the importance of analyzing each source in its historical context in order to understand what its author intended to share with his selected audience.