Lisbon and Sebastião José de Carvalho e Melo

If you are a tourist in Lisbon and want to find the best Lisbon hotel, you probably ought to look for one situated in the central parts of the city. See where many of the best hotels are clustered, and you will most likely find that this is the best area for your stay.

Before very long, if you speak to the Portuguese citizens, read the available literature on the sights of the city, you are bound to hear about the great earthquake of 1755.

This was one of the beacons in the history of Lisbon, probably as significant as the founding of the city or the conquests by the Moors and later the crusaders.

Over the centuries there have been several earthquakes in Lisbon. There are records of three in the 17th century, five in the 16th and eight in the 15th. The worst recorded were in 1309, 1531 and 1755.

The world has about seven major tectonic plates and numerous smaller plates. Where these plates meet and bump up against one another, there is called a ‘fault line’. One of these, the ‘Lower Tagus Valley Fault’ is said to be the culprit.

In the 18th century, Lisbon was one of the largest cities in Europe, and one of the oldest established. In November 1755 a massive earthquake hit Lisbon and decimated it.

It is estimated that it measured 8.5 – 9 on the Richter scale. It was followed by fires and a massive tsunami that reached 30 meters in places. As much as 85% of the city and surrounding small towns were destroyed and between 30,000 to 40,000 people lost their lives. This was close to 10% of the total number of people living or visiting in the area that day.

Damage from the tsunami was suffered, to a lesser extent, in Morocco, Britain and Ireland. Within the Mediterranean the effect was less, with just a two meter swell in Gibraltar.

As in many times of crisis, the best and the worst of humanity come to prominence. Just such a man was Sebastião José de Carvalho e Melo, the 1st Marquess of Pombal.

Most people considered him a hero for his prompt and efficient dealing with the aftermath of the tragedy. Others hated him for his ruthlessness in dealing with looters as well as his seeming lack of feeling over the deaths. His motto was to ‘bury the deceased and take care of the living’.

He also achieved fame and notoriety by his warm tolerance of the new Jewish converts to Christianity and his hatred and persecution of the Jesuits.

Together with the search and rescue missions, he made temporary hospitals and freeing up of the main roadways a priority.

He ordered equal distribution of food, and for some time after the disaster froze the prices of food to prevent hoarders or the more fortunate from speculating and making money.

Instead of trying to restore many of the old buildings, he demolished whole neighbourhoods, and rebuilt. He took a leaf from the book of the Japanese and tried to find ways of erecting buildings that could withstand future earthquakes.

Within one year, the city of Lisbon was on the road to recovery.

You can see the statue commemorating this man at the Marquês de Pombal Square at the head of the impressive Liberdade Avenue.

He is also famous for being the first Portuguese leader to outlaw slavery, both within his country and in the colonies.

To visit all the historically important places, make sure that you are near the excellent transport services that can take you all over Lisbon. Hotel in lisbon city centre will be your ideal choice for accommodation.

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