Date : Nov 1, 1755

Place : Lisbon, Portugal.

It was a beautiful morning on the 1st of Nov, 1755. It was also the All Saint's Day, a day considered auspicious by the devout catholic people of Lisbon. People were in their holiday mood. Lisbon, the capital of Portugal, is located in the West of the country, on the Atlantic Ocean Coast at the point where the river Tagus flows into the Atlantic Ocean.

Around 9:40 in the morning the inevitable happened. An earthquake with a magnitude of around 9 on the Ritcher Scale with its epicentre in the atlantic ocean, struck Lisbon with such a massive force that it caused gigantic 5 metres wide fissures to appear in the city centre. Many of the survivours rushed to the open space of the docks. Many of them were trapped inside their building's.

To worsen the situation, fire broke out in the buildings as a result of the falling candles, overturning furnaces. The victims were either burnt or buried alive. The only place safe was the open ground near the sea shore and people rushed to the sea shore only to witness the sea receding.

A couple of minutes later an enormous Tsunami hit the left over town swallowing the innocent survivors of the earthquake. It is believed that the triple destruction killed around 100,000 People and the fire raged for 5 days destroying what was left of the city.

The 1755 Lisbon earthquake set into motion many important events that followed. The triple disaster not only shook and burnt the buildings but it also shook the belief that people had on GOD. How could one explain such a phenomenon where there was mass destruction and death and that too happening on All Saint's Day.

The earthquake influenced Voltaire, the famous writer, to write his best known work "The Candide".  He criticed the church dogma and blind beliefs.  Another famous philospher, Immanuel Kent, collected all information regarding earthquakes and studied the causes of them. It is believed that Kent brought the first Systematic attempts to explain earthquakes by natural rather then supernatural causes and started the begining of Seismology.

Marquis of Pombal, the then prime minister, was hugely responsible for the reconstruction of the modern Lisbon architecture. The whole city was rebuilt within an year and the architectural models were designed to resist subsequent earthquakes. They remain the first quake proof buildings.

The 1775 Lisbon earthquake has left me thinking a lot. Humans cannot withstand natural calamities yet we go about depleting our natural resources. We are so small compared to nature yet the small ego in every one of us makes us think otherwise. But even after such a calamity, humans have the will power to overcome it, innovate things and continue with what is left over and rebuild our lives.

So where does our real power lie?

More information on the 1755 Lisbon earthquake.