Lisbon Estoril Coast Tourism Guide - Lisbon Earthquake

The 'Great' 1755 Lisbon Earthquake

From accounts on the day, the Lisbon earthquake first struck around 9.30am on Saturday 1st November 1755 - All Saints' Day when many of Lisbon's residents were inside churches. It lasted for around 10 minutes and was not one but three big shocks, the second shock being the one that caused most damage. The first shock made buildings quake and a huge noise compared to that of loud traffic could be heard. There was then a pause, followed by the second big shock which lasted for 2 minutes - it was this second shock that brought down palaces, roofs, churches, walls, houses and shops all in a deafening roar of collapse and destruction. Next came the third shock completing the carnage, with a huge dust cloud rising above Lisbon bringing a dark cloud on what had started off as a crystal clear day.

As fires began to break out and people tried to crawl out of the wreckage about 1 hour after the 3 shocks, the waters of the Tagus began to look menacing - rising up and culminating in the crashing of not just 1, but 3 huge seismic waves hitting heaviest the waterfront between the Alcantara docks and the Terreiro do Paco. That wasn't the end of it - there were aftershocks, some of which were small but one at 11am struck just before the 3 seismic tsunami waves rolled in. This shock obliterated much of Western Lisbon including Sao Paulo church where a huge number of refugees there were crushed. Another big aftershock hit around 12 noon, causing much damage to Northern Lisbon. However, it was the first three earthquakes beginning at around 9.30am that had caused most of the damage to the city.

The Lisbon earthquake was wide reaching and although the death toll from this 1755 earthquake is not the highest of all time (bigger earthquake disasters have been seen in China, Japan and India - the Kwanto earthquake in 1923 almosst destroyed all of Tokyo and Yokohama with a death toll of 100,000), destruction touched locations as far away as Algiers on the African coast. The resultant scientific speculations and philosophical debates were worldwide - the Lisbon earthquake of 1755 changed things.

The southwest corner of Portugal was severely damaged, and both Setubal and Sacavem as well as major towns on the Algarve such as Lagos, Tavira and Faro suffered huge destruction and loss of life. In North Africa as well in Fez and Mequinez these was large loss of life and destruction. The effects of the Lisbon earthquake were felt across the south west of Spain, at Coimbra in Portugal, and Cadiz and Seville in Spain. The shock was felt as far away as Bordeaux in France and shocks were even reported in places such as the Scilly Islands off Cornwall. Certainly the waves were felt and hit both England and Ireland around 2pm, and across Europe waters in canals, lakes and rivers rose and then were seen to fall down. The physical effects were immediately felt from the Lisbon earthquake over a huge area - not surprising then what followed in terms of worldwide reflection on religion, philosophy and the phenomena of natural disasters. For this moment, the world's attention was focused on Lisbon.

The Lisbon Earthquake - The Collision of African & European Plates

In the immediate period after the Lisbon earthquake which obliterated not just Lisbon but numerous ports, cities and towns across the Southern Algarve Coast, North Africa and across to Cadiz and Spain, numerous scientific guesses were put forward as to its cause. Although less heard that the 'Wrath of God' scenarios pushing the people of Portugal often into real spasms of panic, the scientific arguments began to emerge. Many revolved around theories of electricity - the newly emerging energy.

Others though like Moreira de Mendonca did point to rumblings under the earth, or great collisions of air - and this comes closer to contemporary scientists like Alastair Dawson, Professor of Geology at Coventry University pointing to the collision of African and European plates to the west of Portugal on the seafloor. A little controversy has appeared recently with researched on the Lisbon earthquake offered up by Gutscher who points to Subduction as the cause of the Lisbon Earthquake.

The process of subduction is when the oceanic lithosphere - essentially the outer solid crust of the Earth dives underneath the continental lithosphere. Dawson is swift though in cautioning against Gutscher's theories, as Dawson highlights that Gutscher is taking his focus on the source of the quate from the Gulf of Cadiz, which runs contrary to many papers published since 1755 pointing to the epicenter of the Lisbon Earthquake as lcoated west of Portugal on the seafloor. Dawson and others are firm in their theory that the quake must have struck offshore for such high tsunami waves to have been produced. The collision of these two great plates stands as the conclusive cause of the Great Lisbon earthquake of 1755.

The approximate magnitude of the Lisbon earthquake is thought to have been around 8.7, lasting for around 10 minutes, several aftershocks were recorded serving to heighten people's panic. The tsunami waves (3 of them formed and hit Lisbon from 11am on 1st November 1755) would have reached heights of 5 to 10 metres. Most subduction formed earthquakes and tsunamis originate in the Pacific and Indian Oceans, but the 1755 Lisbon earthquake is a result of activity around the southern Iberian tectonics.

The Wrath of God - Philosophic and Psychological Effects of the Lisbon Earthquake

"There is no divine visitation which is likely to have so general an influence upon sinners as an earthquake" (Letter from John Wesley to Christopher Hoppeer, October 1777, in The Lisbon Earthquake by TD Kendrick, published 1956 by Methuen & Co Ltd).

Prior to the Lisbon earthquake of 1755, what is less known is that London had experienced two earthquakes in February and March of 1750. These shocks were nowhere near the magnitude of the Lisbon earthquake, but they shook buildings and brought down a few chimneys, desks rocked, people lurched and the odd old house collapsed. These caused considerable fear and speculation at the time, and at a time when scientific answers were mostly guess work, in stepped the church with answer - along the lines of the Wrath of God striking sinners.

Such was the reaction to minor quakes felt in London in 1750, so you can imagine the absolute panic and fear resulting in the aftermouth of the 1755 Lisbon earthquake - this fear of the Wrath of God scenario rumbled on for a good few years, spurred by some particularly zealous religious figures some of whom Pombal had imprisoned. Voltaire attacks and mocks such religious zealots in 'Candide', when Candide visits Lisbon post earthquake. The sermons, moralizing drones of religious poetry and various tracts rolled on across Europe for many years after the Lisbon earthquake, and particularly within Lisbon, keeping people in a perpetual panic and bubble of fear and of course aligned and under the Catholic church with the full consent of the Pope.

The Lisbon earthquake was an event with physical far reaching effects and an unsettling event marking a moment where those who were settled in this optimistic status quo were vulnerable. Voltaire seized his opportunity, and a revolution in thought did occur. The Lisbon earthquake set the mood for that change.

Lisbon Before the Earthquake & Pictures of the Lisbon Earthquake

Looking at pictures of the Lisbon waterfront around Terreiro do Paco prior to the 1755 earthquake gives you a glimpse of just how much devastation there must have been The central building on the Terreiro do Paco waterfront then was the Torreao do Forte - a huge decorative construction built specifically for Philip II of Spain. This building used to sit on the west side of today's Terreiro do Paco just opposite the statue of Jose I. (bearing in mind of course that the waterfront today sits much further south than it did prior to 1755 - the earthquake shifted the course of the River Tagus, most strikingly demonstrated by the relocation of the Torre de Belem tower to the West of Lisbon which once stood in the middle of the Tagus, and now sits on the waterfront). Adacent to the Torreao do Forte was the mammoth palace of the Corte Real family. This building and the royal palace were completely destroyed.

What the earthquakes did not level, the subsquent fires which were fanned by a north east wind did further damage, gutting numerous churches, shops and homes. The subsquent fires caused most of the damage to Lisbon's material wealth. There are numerous personal accounts from the day depicting the carnage, huge loss of life, suffering and also the many acts of personal heroism. And there are the stories of the horror of the waves. The waters of the Tagus had calmed a little by 2pm on the 1st November, and ships began to cross it with refugees.

The Marques De Pombal & Lisbon Reconstruction

At some point during your stay in Lisbon, perhaps on a sightseeing open top bus or even hair-raisingly in your own Lisbon car hire, you may ride around or walk across the Marques de Pombal huge roundabout adjacent to Parque Eduardo VII and wonder who he was. Of all the names that stick out in Lisbon after the earthquake, particularly pertaining to reconstruction and carrying on, the Marques de Pombal will usually be found at the top of the list. However, it was the Portuguese people that rebuilt Lisbon, and there are numerous names now lost behind Pombal's name which remains to the fore. When you read about the specifics of reconstruction however, you can't help but have a little favour at least for his ability to deal with almost any crisis that constantly arose in the period immediately after the earthquake. The current simple ordered grid design of Lisbon, pushing up from Praco do Comercio in Baixa is down to Pombal.

Essentially he was a Dictator, the closest of anyone to King Jose I at the time of the earthquake. He was born in 1699, son of a country squire and didn't move into politics until his late 30s. His uncle had connections at court and got him in, plus he married the widow of a nobleman who was the niece of Conde de Arcos. The bride's family disapproved of the marriage. Climbing slowly he ran through a series of roles including Minister Plenipotenitary in London and later in 1745 he went on a mission to Vienna. His first wife died at that point, and he married again to an Austrian woman with a strong lineage - from this developed his strong link with Queen Maria Ana who was also Austrian.

Finding himself back in Portugal in 1749, his close links with the Queen Regent and friend Coutinho who was now Secretary of State - he was promoted to the Cabinet as Minister for Foreign Affairs and War when Jose I took the throne. From that point he pushed forward to establish himself at the centre of Portugese politics. There is no doubt that Pombal, despite having received considerable criticism over the years as a ruthless dictator, was a man of ability and it was him who drove Lisbon to rebuilt after the earthquake. Biographies written at the time, for example that of Antonio Pereira in 1761, point to that common sense, opposition to fanatical religious zealots and indeed his bravery which essentially saved both Lisbon and Portugal from economic and social collapse post earthquake.

The story goes that when the young Jose I aged 36 first heard of the disaster he asked those around him what was to be done, and Pombal is supposed to have replied 'Bury the dead and feed the living'. It's a reply that fits. As early as 1758 he had numerous enemies who envied his power, particularly amongst other nobles and the Jesuits. Pombal had exiled a few notable names on his climb to power too. Not everyone within the church ranted and raved about the wrath of god and filling people with fear, there are many brave names here too who also just got on with rebuilding. Pombal's enermies finally got their revenge after the death of Jose I in 1777. Pombal was exiled to the small town of Pombal between Leiria and Coimbra and died there shortly after.