Lisbon Earthquake

November 1, 1755

On All Saints' morning, with the churches full and the candles lit, the ground heaved. Fires broke out; a tsunami followed. Tens of thousands died in minutes. Voltaire read the news and lost his faith in benevolent Providence; Candide is unthinkable without the rubble of Lisbon. The Marquis de Pombal, the prime minister who rebuilt the city on a rational grid, became an Enlightenment hero in the process.