The earthquake of 1755

It was the morning of November 1, 1755 when Portugal, mainly Lisbon, was hit
by a strong earthquake (scale of 8.5). This quake was so intense that most of the city
was completely destroyed.

As it was All Saints Day (religious day), a large part of Lisbon's population was
inside the dozens of churches that existed in the capital. This gathering will increase
the degree of tragedy.

Many people from Lisbon, thinking that they would be safe along the Tejo
River, could not even imagine that due to the earthquake a tsunami was on its way.
This tidal wave will add to the calamity. However, the misfortunes did not end there,
because during the night the great fires started. It is estimated that in the city of
Lisbon alone, between 10 and 15 thousand people have lost their lives. The
destruction was almost total.

The king (D. José I) survives and will entrust the Marques de Pombal with taking immediate measures, such
as: Burying the dead and taking care of the living; maintain order and prevent looting; Rebuild Lisbon.

rebuild Lisbon
Sebastião de Carvalho e Melo (Marquês de Pombal) is in charge of the recovery of the city of Lisbon. This was
ancient, medieval and far from the new cities that were emerging across Europe. The Marquis will take the
opportunity to rebuild an entire city almost from scratch and at the same time provide it with measures and
infrastructure that can withstand future earthquakes. Engineer Manuel da Maia and architect Eugénio dos Santos
will thus help to create the new Lisbon and the so-called Baixa Pombalina.
This new city will have features such as:
• Wide and perpendicular streets
• Buildings all the same height (avoiding domino effect)
• Sewerage system
• Stakes securing the buildings and the use of the Pombaline cage
• Iron frames