In 1755, an earthquake struck Lisbon, Portugal, which was followed by a tsunami, then by a fire that engulfed the city. Thousands died, and the city was ruined. Lisbon is the nation's capital, and Portugal was an empire busy colonizing other parts of the world at the time, so the catastrophe was big news globally. It also came at a moment in history that science was on the rise, and the struggle between studying natural phenomena and ascribing all events to God's will was in full force. There were political effects of the earthquake as well, that led to revolutions far from Portugal. BBC reel gives us a quick overview of the effects of the Lisbon earthquake.
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