Prediciendo la catástrofe en comarcas ecuatoriales: La discusión pública de los pronósticos de terremotos de Rudolf Falb en Sudamérica (1869-1889)

Abstract

This article analyzes how the earthquake predictions of the Austrian Rudolf Falb (1838–1903) circulated in South America. Specifically, it focuses on the repercussions that he had on the Ecuadorian scientific circuit, an aspect that until now has not been studied and where the Jesuits played an important role in the public discussion of these theories. Through an analysis of the press and the main booklets and conferences between 1869 and 1887 it was determined that many religious scientists of the time sought to find correlations between meteorological, astronomical and seismic observations, which were considered within scientific circles, but criticized when they came out into the public sphere turned into true predictions that caused collective panic.