Walks in history: El maremoto

          In modern Spanish, the word maremoto is hardly used anymore, having the Japanese tsunami gained popularity in the media in the last few years. Still, “maremoto” can be heard both in Cádiz and in Rota today, but to refer to an specific event; the earthquake of All Saints' Day, 1755.

          This earthquake had an estimated magnitude of 9 on the Richter scale and affected most of Spain and Portugal, as well as almost all the coastlines of the north Atlantic. Its consequences were not only material, but rather triggered advances in science, philosophy, politics, architecture and even had its influence on the future Revolutionary War! Interested? Read on...

          In Portugal, the prime minister Sebastião de Melo -later marquis of Pombal-, ruled as a virtual dictator as the shocked king, dom José I, lost his mind and never again slept under a roof for fear that it might collapse on him. He slept in a luxurious tent for the rest of his live.

          In the bay of Cádiz, the quake shifted the waters, sending then three miles away from Rota and towards Cádiz. That is half of the bay where the sea bottom became ghastly visible to all. The waves slammed into the city walls and custom has it that it was not until the image of the Virgen de la Palma was taken on procession to the walls that the sea receded. It was considered a miracle and even today, every 1st of November, the procession is repeated in remembrance.

          But where did all that water go next? It retreated back to Rota. Millions of pounds of water and debris smashed into the harbour -erasing the old wharf from existence-, overcame the walls and made it as far as the entrance to the Iglesia de la O. One of the chapels -that of El Rosario- had to be rebuilt. Miraculously, no deaths were accounted for in Rota, so in thanksgiving a mass was held; mass which is also still repeated today every November in the Iglesia de la O.
 

Proyecto para la reconstrucción del muelle de Rota del siglo XIX

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          However, the real extent of the damage would came later. With no wharf to protect it, the harbour was quickly silted up by the oncoming tides. The seawall became also vulnerable to erosion and over the next century collapsed in several places; houses and all. It was not until the modern harbour was built in the 1990's that the problem was fixed. If you go today to the small beach in front of the hotel Duque de Nájera at low tide you can still see all that remains of the old dock; the semi submerged rocks on the right of today's harbour.

          However, the city that was hardest hit by the quake was Lisbon. At the time this city was the head of an empire stretching from Brasil to China, with possessions in Africa and India. Out of a population of 275.000 well over ten thousand died. First came the earthquake, then fires broke out and lastly a tsunami washed over most of the city. Two thirds of Lisbon ceased to exist.
 

Arco del Triunfo. Praça do Comércio, Lisboa

          The king was paralyzed by fear so his prime minister went about rebuilding the city; increasing his power and prestige along the way. When king José asked him “What do we do now?” he just answered “We bury the dead and care for the living.” Over the next years a new city -A Baixa or Downtown- was built on top of old Lisbon; presided by a majestic triumphant arch; the triumph of Lisbon over Nature.

          To many it became clear that such a catastrophe could not be an act of God, but rather of Nature. How could God unleash His wrath on a people that had worked in His name and introduced Christianity to three continents? How could He destroy the churches, while leaving the Alfama  (Lisbon's red-light-district) untouched? Enlightened thinkers, such as Voltaire, concluded not only that it had to be an act of Nature, but also that God did not seem to care for earthly matters, only spiritual ones.
 
         This idea had many consequences in all aspects of life for many! It meant that disasters could not be averted by prayer alone, so architects set about designing new buildings that could resist a new quake in Lisbon. Scientists began to systematically study the Earth, setting the bases for modern geology and seismology. Political thinkers took God out of the equation and soon realised that the idea of the “Divine right of kings” was wholesale absurd! Kings cannot get their legitimacy to rule from a God that does not care for earthy affairs... but rather from those over whom they rule. Kings could only be legitimate if they ruled with the people and for the people. This idea would become central to the American and French revolutions; if the king did not respect the people, he was to be considered a tyrant to be removed. Exactly what happened in America just twenty years later in 1776. 

Iglesia del Convento do Carmo, Lisboa

         If you are ever lucky enough to visit Lisbon there is a reminder of the Earthquake and of what it means to our modern world. As one basks in the sunlight of Praça de Pedro IV, having a silky smooth bica of coffee, it is easy to lift up your eyes to the top of the hill on the south west; O Bairro Alto. There stands all that remains of the church of the convent of O Carmo. Its' pointy gothic arches rise up roof-less into the sky as the earthquake left it. It was never rebuilt after 1755 to serve as a reminder to all.
 

         Today it stands a silent sentinel to lisboetas and extranjeiros alike of the earthquake that shook western civilization in 1755. El maremoto.  

(Publicado en el Rota Coastline el 12 de diciembre de 2013)