1755 Lisbon earthquake
E18935
The 1755 Lisbon earthquake was a devastating seismic event that struck Portugal’s capital on All Saints’ Day, triggering massive fires and a tsunami, and profoundly influencing European philosophy, science, and urban planning.
Aliases (2)
Statements (52)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
earthquake
→
historical event → natural disaster → |
| aftershock |
multiple strong aftershocks during the same day
→
|
| casualtiesEstimate |
tens of thousands
→
|
| casualtiesEstimateInLisbon |
approximately 30,000–40,000 deaths
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|
| cityMostAffected |
Lisbon
→
|
| countryAffected |
Kingdom of Portugal
→
|
| date |
1755-11-01
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|
| day |
All Saints’ Day
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|
| destroyedStructure |
Lisbon’s Baixa district
→
Lisbon’s royal archives → Royal Ribeira Palace → numerous churches and monasteries in Lisbon → |
| economicImpact |
severe destruction of Lisbon’s economy
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|
| epicenterRegion |
near Lisbon, Portugal
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|
| feltInRegion |
British Isles
→
France → Germany → Iberian Peninsula → Italy → North Africa → Switzerland → |
| governingMonarch |
Joseph I of Portugal
→
|
| influenced |
European Enlightenment thought
→
Immanuel Kant’s writings on earthquakes → Voltaire’s novel "Candide" → Voltaire’s poem "Poème sur le désastre de Lisbonne" → debates on the problem of evil in philosophy → development of modern earthquake-resistant urban planning in Lisbon → early seismological studies in Europe → reconstruction of Lisbon’s Baixa Pombalina → theological discussions on divine providence → |
| keyPoliticalFigure |
Sebastião José de Carvalho e Melo, Marquis of Pombal
→
|
| legacy |
considered one of the deadliest earthquakes in European history
→
milestone event in the history of seismology → turning point in Lisbon’s urban development → |
| magnitudeEstimate |
8.5–9.0 Mw
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|
| maximumIntensity |
XI (Extreme) on the Mercalli intensity scale
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|
| reconstructionFeature |
Pombaline cage anti-seismic building design
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|
| reconstructionPlan |
grid-based layout for central Lisbon
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|
| responseLedBy |
Marquis of Pombal
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|
| timeOfDay |
around 09:40 local time
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|
| triggeredEvent |
Lisbon fire
→
tsunami along the Portuguese coast → tsunami in Morocco → tsunami in southwestern Spain → tsunami in the Atlantic Ocean → tsunami observed in the British Isles → tsunami observed in the Caribbean → |
| tsunamiArrivalTimeInLisbon |
about 20–40 minutes after the main shock
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|
| tsunamiWaveHeightInLisbonHarbor |
approximately 5–15 meters
→
|
Referenced by (8)
| Subject (surface form when different) | Predicate |
|---|---|
|
Baixa
→
Baixa Pombalina of Lisbon → Praça do Comércio → |
rebuiltAfter |
|
Hassan Tower
("Lisbon earthquake of 1755")
→
|
associatedWithEvent |
|
Lisbon
→
|
historicEvent |
|
Alfama
→
|
survivedEvent |
|
1755 Lisbon earthquake
("Lisbon fire")
→
|
triggeredEvent |
|
Joseph I of Portugal
→
|
wasMonarchDuring |