The Great Lisbon Earthquake That Changed Hitstory (1755)

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The Great Lisbon Earthquake That Changed Hitstory (1755)

The 1755 earthquake of Lisbon had such a profound effect on the world that we are still feeling its impact today. As well as devastating one of the most important cities of the 18th century, it shook the thinking of the time.

Many believed the earthquake was a punishment from God. Others wondered if science was a better way to the understand the universe and how it works. We now associate these thinkers with the Age of Enlightenment, a period of history that led to the French Revolution and the American War of Independence.

The 1755 Lisbon earthquake, also known as the Great Lisbon earthquake, hit the Iberian Peninsula and Northwest Africa on the morning of Saturday, 1 November, Feast of All Saints, at around 09:40 local time.

In combination with subsequent fires and a tsunami, the earthquake almost completely destroyed Lisbon and adjoining areas. Seismologists estimate the Lisbon earthquake had a magnitude of 7.7 or greater on the moment magnitude scale, with its epicenter in the Atlantic Ocean about 200 km (110 nmi; 120 mi) west-southwest of Cape St. Vincent, a cape in the Algarve region, and about 290 km (160 nmi; 180 mi) southwest of Lisbon.

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The Great Lisbon Earthquake That Changed Hitstory (1755)

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