residents of the city had been more evenly dispersed and less densely housed, loss of life would have been minimal. How many unfortunates perished in this disaster through the desire to fetch their clothing, papers, or money? Jean-Jacques used the earthquake as an argument against city-life and in favour of more naturalistic ways of being. The Marquis of Pombal in the meantime was assigned the task of rebuilding the devastated city. He imposed strict conditions and guidelines on the re-construction in order to transform the organic and chaotic streetscape that characterized the city before the earthquake into its current grid pattern. While the earthquake caused considerable damage throughout the capital, much of the old city (Bairro alto) survived with little damage, thanks to its compact labyrinth of narrow streets and small squares. In 1703 England and Portugal signed the Methuen Treaty. At the start of the War of the Spanish Succession the Portuguese allied with France because the French had guaranteed them naval protection. However, in 1702 the British Navy sailed close to Lisbon on the way to and from Cadiz, proving to the Portuguese authorities that the French could not keep their promise. Talks with the Grand Alliance about switching sides began soon after. The resulting treaty was negotiated by John Methuen, the British Ambassador to Portugal. It established closer trading relations between the two nations, allowing English woolen cloth to be admitted into Portugal free of duty and, in return, Portuguese wines imported into England would be subject to a third less taxation than those brought in from elsewhere. Port was about to hit Britain. The real impact was felt during and after the Napoleonic Wars when French products were virtually unobtainable. Soon British wine merchants migrated to Portugal and established the famous port houses of Cockburn, Croft, Dow, Graham, Osborne, Sandeman, Taylor and Warre. The British aristocracy became addicted to port and afflicted by gout, whilst English poets fell in love with Portugal - and with Sintra in particular. The name Sintra evokes a series of cultural memories. In 1825, Almeida Garret published his poem ‘Camões’. It signalled the beginning of the Romantic obsession