Throughout early modern Europe and the Atlantic World, individuals recorded details of earthquakes in diaries and letters, contemplated meanings in sermons, and learned about distant disasters via broadsides and pamphlets. Highlighting the contemporary providential worldview, this paper, presented by Jennifer Egloff of NYU Shanghai on December 13 at 5 pm at 1154 Boylston Street, argues that numbers contained in earthquake reports were particularly significant. By recording precisely when earthquakes occurred—and making correlations with distant earthquakes—individuals interpreted God’s messages apocalyptically, arguing that particular earthquakes correlated with those described in Revelation. Some people combined this with additional chronological information to predict when Judgment Day would occur. This paper explores the extent to which New Englanders were unique in their providential and apocalyptical interpretations of global disasters, compared to their Atlantic counterparts.
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