1755 Lisbon earthquake a benevolent deity. The Lisbon disaster provided a counterexample. As Theodor Adorno wrote, "[t]he earthquake of Lisbon sufficed to cure Voltaire of the theodicy of Leibniz" ("Negative Dialectics" 361). In the later twentieth century, the 1755 earthquake has sometimes been compared to the Holocaust as a catastrophe that transformed European culture and philosophy. Jean-Jacques Rousseau was also influenced by the devastation following the earthquake, whose severity he believed was due to too many people living within the close quarters of the city. Rousseau used the earthquake as an argument against cities as part of his desire for a more naturalistic
1621 Panama earthquake 1621 Panama earthquake The 1621 Panama earthquake, also known as the Panamá Viejo earthquake occurred between 16:30 and 16:45 (UTC−5) on 2 May. It is considered to be the first documented violent quake in the Isthmus of Panama, with the epicenter at Pedro Miguel fault, with a magnitude of about 6.9 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of VII ("Very strong"). The quake shook and partially destroyed the ancient city of Panama (Panama la Vieja), which at that time was a town of about 5,000 inhabitants. It left extensive damage, especially with buildings made of masonry which were partially or fully