The 1755 Earthquake Shook More Than Buildings

November 1, 1755. All Saints' Day, every church full. Magnitude 8.5 earthquake, then tsunami, then fires. Between 30,000 and 60,000 dead. Voltaire wrote Candide in response. The disaster destabilized the Enlightenment's confidence in a rational, benevolent universe.

The Marquis de Pombal rebuilt the Baixa with earthquake-resistant construction and wide streets — one of the first planned urban rebuilds in history. The ruins of the Carmo Convent in Chiado — Gothic skeleton, roof destroyed, never rebuilt — stand open to the sky as the memorial. The most eloquent ruin in Lisbon.