Just like humans, every country has their history; their birth certificate, even if its lost somewhere, their course of development, their age, and of course, their personal happiness and tragedies. Countries age just like people, and just like them, no matter how forgotten the pain seems, the “thing” causing it still remains actual.
9.30. November 1. 1755. A year, a date and an hour that proved disastrous for not only Portugal and its capital, but also the rest of Europe and North Africa. The earthquake has been depicted in the art and presently, paintings recounting about the effect and consequences of the earthquake can be “seen” in the museums of many European countries.
Prior to 1755 Lisbon was one of the nicest historical cities. Much was lost, damaged and ruined in the city. In 1755, the city was estimated to have a population of 275.000 people, imagine the fear and confusion each of them has experienced as the natural disaster shook every part of Lisbon. Back then the Moorish influence was still greatly felt in the city. Saint George Castle, Rosario (the main commercial center), the Estatus Palace, Saint Dominic Church, Saint Paul’s Church, the Tower of Belem, Jeronimos Church were only some of the most impressive Lisbon sites, which also suffered from the earthquake.
The earthquake was followed by a fire, which caused additional damage to particularly the downtown area. The fire was caused by candles and cooking fires. Also, many people had left their homes leaving the fires on, in their houses. And who would think of fire at that moment? There were buildings, which hadn’t suffered much from the earthquake. But they were destined to get destroyed by the fire. Among them were the Royal Palace and the Opera House. It took around six days to extinguish the fire.
Most of the people hoped to find safety on the water. But it proved not to be a solution either, as a tsunami rose exposing people to more danger. To the south of Lisbon, the water rose as high as six meters.
The shock and the panic were so high that this disaster simply had to find its illustration in art, poetry, everywhere. But at the same time, as generally in all such cases, exaggeration also comes, that is why if you ask people in the rural areas about the earthquake, then the exaggeration will especially be noted.
Estimated 60.000 people died in Lisbon. The earthquake is reported to have a magnitude in the range 8.5-9.0.