1755 Lisbon earthquake

The 1755 Lisbon earthquake was a catastrophic earthquake, followed by a tsunami and fires, that destroyed much of the Portuguese capital in 1755. It killed tens of thousands of people and devastated the city's buildings, archives and commercial wealth. In the history of the Portuguese Empire it is treated as a blow that deepened the kingdom's decline, although the reconstruction led by the Marquis of Pombal also prompted major administrative reform.