The Earthquake That Brought an Empire to Its Knees

In the 18th century, the Portuguese empire was enjoying the wealth of its second Golden Age. Mother Nature, however, had other plans.It was a calamity of Biblical proportions, akin to Sodom and Gomorrah or Egypt in Exodus.In 1755, Lisbon, the capital of the extensive Portuguese empire and the third-busiest port in the world, was in the midst of its second golden age.