November 1st in 1755, at 9:30 a.m., Lisbon is rocked by the most powerful earthquake in European history. 90 minutes later, a tsunami drowns many of the survivors. Additionally, candles lit for the Roman Catholic holiday, All Saints Day, have turned into one large, city-wide blaze reaching over 1,000 degrees. Finally, 100s of criminals descend on the city to devour what remained. Approximately 15% of the city perishes, including the Grand Inquisitor appointed by the Pope. Lisbon had been the centre of Portuguese Inquisition, which primarily targeted Jewish disciples of R. Yeshua MiNatzaret (Jesus) suspected of practicing Judaism; things like keeping HaShems Shabbat holy as the Torah instructs, and which Yeshua and his earliest followers upheld. Less than 20 years later, Pombaline reforms abolish autos-da-fe (burning at the stake), blood cleansing statutes, and discrimination against Jewish believers. 40,000 are estimated to have perished in the Portuguese Inquisition.
Posted on: Sun, 03 Nov 2013 03:16:34 +0000