Wrath of God: The Great Lisbon Earthquake of 1755

 

Just after half past nine on the morning of Sunday, November 1, 1755, the end of the world came to the city of Lisbon. On a day that had begun with blue skies and gentle warmth, Portugal’s proud capital was struck by a massive earthquake estimated at 8.7 on the Richter scale—more powerful than the 1906 San Francisco or the 2010 Port-au-Prince earthquakes. An hour later, Lisbon and the Algarve coast were engulfed by a series of tsunamis, while in areas of the city unaffected by the waves, fires raged for six days, completing the destruction of Europe’s fourth-largest city. By the time it was all over, 60,000 people had perished and 85 per cent of Lisbon’s buildings, plus an unimaginable wealth of cultural treasures, had been destroyed by quake, fire, or water. The earthquake had a searing impact on the European psyche, and for Portugal itself, despite an ambitious program of reconstruction—which gave birth to the modern science of seismology—the quake ushered in a period of decline. Drawing on primary sources, a vivid picture is painted of a city and society changed forever by a day of terror. The quake itself and its immediate aftermath is described in detail, as are the political, economic, and cultural consequences.