Which of the following statements concerning the 1755 Lisbon earthquake and its aftermath is FALSE?

Question

BlackTom AI · Accepted Answer

The 1755 Lisbon earthquake did not create an “Age of Optimism”; instead it produced widespread theological and philosophical crisis and a backlash against the idea that the world was providentially ordered for human happiness.

1) Relevant knowledge points and concepts
- The quake struck on All Saints’ Day, 1 November 1755, producing a powerful earthquake, subsequent fires and a tsunami.
- The tsunami crossed the Atlantic and affected North African and Atlantic coasts; historical records outside Europe are scarcer.
- Enlightenment thinkers debated whether natural disasters had natural causes or were divine punishment; the event stimulated empirical investigation into earthquakes (early seismology) but also intense philosophical skepticism—Voltaire’s Candide famously attacks optimistic theodicies.
- The Marquis of Pombal used the crisis to strengthen central authority and implement rebuilding and safety regulations (the “Pombaline” reforms).

2) Step-by-step reasoning
- The quake occurred during a major religious holiday; candle-lit services and burning debris caused catastrophic fires—so the statement about the holiday and fires is true.
- Tsunami effects reached Moroccan and other African coasts; fewer surviving records from those regions make casualty estimates imprecise—so the African-coast casualty statement is credible.
- The disaster prompted thinkers to seek natural explanations for earthquakes (empirical inquiry by Kant and others), so Europeans increasingly considered natural causes rather than purely supernatural ones—true.
- Pombal consolidated power during relief and rebuilding, instituting reforms—true.
- The given false statement claims an “Age of Optimism” arose. Evidence shows the opposite: the catastrophe undermined optimistic philosophical systems (e.g., Leibnizian optimism) and inspired critique and pessimism, even while it did encourage scientific study. Thus the claim that it gave rise to a new Age of Optimism is incorrect.

3) Why the correct answer is correct
- Because historical reaction was skeptical and critical of optimistic theology, not a surge of optimism; calling the outcome a new “Age of Optimism” misstates the intellectual response.

4) Why other options are incorrect
- They are accurate summaries of documented consequences: tsunami impacts with sparse African records; shift toward natural explanations; disaster-on-holiday causing fires; Pombal’s increased control.

Conclusion: The false statement is “The earthquake led to a growth in scientific knowledge that gave rise to a new ‘Age of Optimism’ in Western Europe.” This matches the provided answer.

Which of the following statements concerning the 1755 Lisbon earthquake and its aftermath is FALSE?单项选择题

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