1755 The Lisbon Earthquake TV - Niall Ferguson TV - Cliff Richard - Lord Byron - This Week TV -
The city of Lisbon on 1st November 1755 – All Saints Day. It’s one of the most important days in the Christian calendar. And the date of one of the greatest disasters in modern times. Sixty thousand people will die in one day alone. 1755 The Lisbon Earthquake
An earthquake [1755] followed by a devastating tsunami striking with the speed and power that astonishes even the experts. ibid.
Three continental plates converge here. Seismically this is a very active area ... Few realise how vulnerable Europe is. ibid.
In the city the houses start to shake. People described a trembling as if a heavy coach were riding by outside. They do nothing and lose valuable time ... Somewhere to the south-west two continental plates suddenly shift with explosive power. Within two minutes the shockwaves reach the capital. At 9.40 a.m. every church bell in the city begins to ring on its own. Then the sky falls in. ibid.
The 1755 earthquake was Big. ibid.
By 1506 the Portuguese had a near monopoly on shipping along the east African coast. Niall Ferguson, Civilisation: Is the West History? I: Competition, Channel 4 2011
But Portugal has a peaceful feel about it. I sit on the terrace overlooking the vineyard there and I feel cut off from the world. You need that sort of thing. Cliff Richard
O Christ! it is a goodly sight to see
What Heaven hath done for this delicious land! Lord Byron, Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage I:15
The body of the latest hero in Portuguese history is brought back to the Lisbon barracks where he was killed last week, the only death in an attempted right-wing coup. The coup itself is a miserable failure. This Week: Portugal: Attempted Coup, Thames TV 1975
The failed revolt shattered the right of centre parties in Portugal. ibid.