History & Area Studies / Thematic History / Social & Cultural History

Why 17th Century People Prayed During Earthquakes Instead of Running

Moa Isiccante, Genariano, Domenico Sari

Imagine an earthquake shaking your city to the ground. Your first instinct? Run. But in the 17th century Spanish Empire, people dropped to their knees and prayed. This wasn't madness—it was a highly engineered tool for social control. In this deep dive, we explore a groundbreaking academic project edited by Moa Isiccante, Genariano, and Domenico Sari, revealing how saints and officials turned natural disasters into imperial management mechanisms. From the 1631 eruption of Mount Vesuvius to the 1687 Lima earthquake, we uncover a five-stage theological flowchart: sin, God's wrath, punishment, repentance, and remedy. The most critical emergency supply wasn't food or water—it was information. The state weaponized survivor's guilt, turning terrified citizens into compliant subjects. We'll dissect how the viceroy of Naples fled in terror but was portrayed as a fearless hero, how a crumbling adobe wall became a symbol of divine intervention, and how rituals like barefoot parades physically realigned society. The Jesuits even used visual orthopedics—artworks that overwrote public memory. But this isn't just history. The same psychological patterns persist today: during COVID-19, communities invoked a 15th-century saint. Are we any different from those ash-covered crowds? Watch to see how empires survive chaos by inventing heroes—and what that means for us now.