Aftershock

Lisbon, All Souls’ Day, November 1st, 1755.In less than ten minutes, a massive earthquake reduces the city to rubble. An hour later, a tsunami floods the city, followed by a firestorm that rages for five days. Assailed by earth, water and flames, thousands of people die.From the ruins of the devastated city emerges one man who resolves to deliver the country from disaster, promising to ‘heal the sick and bury the dead’: Dom Sebasti?o Jos? Carvalho e Melo, who will later become the Marquis of Pombal. Facing down contempt and opposition from a decadent aristocracy, obstructed by the powerful Jesuit order, Dom Sebasti?o, with the support of the king, reconstructs the capital, rebuilds the economy and overhauls every arm of government, restoring order from chaos. But at what cost?