CHARLES F. WALKER, Shaky Colonialism. The 1746 Earthquake-Tsunami in Lima, Peru, and its Long Aftermath

Abstract

'Shaky Colonialism' demonstrates, through the various reactions to the Lima Earthquake of 1746 and the social upheaval caused by it, that many of the issues animating the aftermath of disasters today were present more than 250 years ago. Earthquakes, tsunamis, absolutism, and Lima -- Balls of fire : premonitions and the destruction of Lima -- City of kings : before and after -- Stabilizing the unstable and ordering the disorderly -- Contending notions of Lima : obstacles to urban reform in the aftermath -- Licentious friars, wandering nuns, and tangled censos : a shakeup of the church -- Controlling women's bodies and placating God's wrath : moral reform -- "All these Indian and black people bear us no good will" : the Lima and Huarochirí rebellions of 1750.