The hand of god?
If one were to consider the nature of this disaster, then only three possible explanations can account for it. One, it is a punishment from God, but I am not inclined to accept this proposition… Two, it is just a natural phenomenon, with no spiritual guidance behind it, but again, I would disagree with this assessment for various reasons… The third explanation is that it was a natural phenomenon with some influence from God, but it was not a malign act, nor punitive, rather it was necessary for some reason with which only He knows.
Raphael Mossais, The Watchmaker and the Redeemer, 1667
The spring of 1663 was a generally tranquil one, and from some of the letters of the period, it seemed that it would be a good growing year, especially in Black Sea area, which was experiencing some of the best weather conditions in a half-century. The population was growing faster than the average rate of Europe, and with the improving relations between the monarchy and the Congress, all seemed to be going well in Cyprus.
But this seeming placidity within the country was shattered on April 14th of that year by a natural disaster of unforeseen proportions. The Northern Anatolian region suffered what today would be considered a mild earthquake, with the epicenter of the tremors originating somewhere in the neighborhood of the Armenian capital. However, due to the fact that the majority of the buildings in the region were built largely from either brittle stone/brick or dried and time-weakened wood, it was far more deadly than a similar quake today. Years of poor construction vanished into large piles of rubble, where few survived. Whole streets were devastated, as one structure would collapse and the weight of its debris would damage other buildings, which in turn would soon give way and the pattern continued for hours. Aftershocks worsened the situation, as even more roads were blocked and survivors became lost in familiar surroundings. Fire-driven ovens were also damaged, allowing flames to start devouring the splintered wood, and those who had managed to escape their homes after the first tremors were now at the mercy of the winds, which could envelop them with fire quickly if they were not careful.
Both in Trabzon and the other coast cities of the Cyprian empire, the damage was just a few minute. The damage also extended far from the epicenter of the quake, causing damage as far south as Amman and as far east as Baku, though in the end, it was mainly the southern half of the Black Sea that suffered the most. Kaffa and Kerch both were beset by high tidal waves which washes through their ports, damaging their docks and reducing their capacity for some months, but this was nothing compared to what happened on the southern coast. The waves were much higher in that area, and the damage was much worse. Trabzon's manmade ports were damaged so extensively by the wall of water, they were generally inaccessible for years. There were also reports from this period that ports on the Caspian were affected, with waves not as high as those that damaged the Black Sea, but dangerous nonetheless.
Further down the coast, in Rize, the main marketplace, along with their administrative center was destroyed, and in Batumi, a hospital collapsed, killing some fifty patients inside, along with three doctors. Silos of grain burned, leaving thousands hungry, while places of worship felt the sting of flames. Great gardens were ravaged by the starving, looking for food and shelter from the worsening weather. Some amongst them thought the earthquake was a punishment from god, an Old Testament retribution for the sins of the world. Even some of the more rational and enlightened men of learning were heard to utter such remarks amongst their colleagues. Being so far from the capital made the full scope of the tragedy hard to grasp at the court, for reports took some time to arrive in Nicosia, and even then, they were sketchy at best, so the Queen was slow in acting. Later, when all the facts came to be known, she was sharply criticized for not doing enough in the first few weeks after the disaster, but it was years before anyone made a public statement of disapproval.
Josefina was unprepared for such tragedy; in fact, it seems doubtful that any monarch in Europe could have been ready for such a natural disaster. And in such situations, old rivalries and divisions tend to be ignored for the moment so there was an almost unheard of sense of unity between the nobility and the monarchy. The three duchies which were the primary victims of this tragedy were aided with the best forms of Christian charity, though it was primarily the nobility which benefited. A few organizations took donations for the poor, but what they received was far less than what was needed, and in fact, if the majority of the funds and relief pouring into the region had been given to those that were most in need, much suffering would have been avoided.
As the ports were so heavily damaged, getting supplies to the survivors would be quite difficult. However, the Maceise trails and carriage routes were still in great condition, so a concerted effort was made to utilize these roadways to bring food into the battered cities and towns in the area. Some unscrupulous merchants in the area sold their edible wares for far more than they were worth before the convoys of supplies began to make their way towards the northern coastline of the Empire. Of course, upon arriving, most of these opportunists were gone, along with their more than modest profits, and in the coming decades, this new wealth was going to prove troublesome for the Maceise family, who were donating their carriages to try to help as many people as they could. While the carriages made their way northward, a steady stream of refugees made their way southward towards the Levant. It was the beginning of a demographic revolution, making the center of the empire from Jerusalem to Beirut one of the most populated sections of land in the region.
By the time supplies finally reached the coastal towns of the Black Sea, it was all but too late. In all, nearly sixty thousand people were killed by the quake and other misfortunes, making it one of the most costly disasters in Cyprian history. It would be quite some time until the southern coast of the Black Sea would be back on its feet, and until that time, there was a risk that an enemy could attack where the empire was its weakest. With nearly all armed forces being removed from the cities on the coast due to the lack of proper barracks, or even decent lodgings, it made the coastline very susceptible to invasion. Of course, an invader would have to want damaged lands and a populace stricken by hunger and disease, something which was not too attractive to most of the island nation’s neighbors.
Nevertheless, Josefina ordered the troops to return to the desolate and shattered cities, not only to protect Cyprus from invaders, but also to protect her citizens from themselves. There were still stories from the Russian Time of Troubles circulating amongst the populace, so it was generally well known how bad conditions could get in the face of the breakdown of society, and the Black Sea coast was close to disintegrating, but the military was their to try to prevent this from happening. Food was distributed amongst the hungry without riots, and with the rigid order imposed by the armed forces, the towns and cities began to be rebuilt during the summer, but it would take many more years before the area was functioning in the way it was before the quakes.
Some changes did take place in architecture however, changes which more accurately fit with the times, though may not have been necessarily safer. There were more smaller structures, and other constructions which were aimed at being more stable in a quake, but the builders at the time had no real skill at predicting how well a house or church would withstand a natural disaster, so they only built with the assumption that something like that wouldn’t happen again. In the end, it was a costly change which may have been beneficial, as the port of Trabzon went from being a minor merchant center to becoming one of the largest ports in the world, competing even with Alexandria eventually as the point of entry of goods. The movement of people southward over the years also helped build the heartland of the empire, while the northern half the empire became much more dependant on developing their resources, including lumber and other such materials which were essential for ship building and the building of houses, so what could have started a depression in essence produced a short time boom.
In the end, there were some lessons to be learned for the great quake, mainly that the way the empire was structured made communications and the movement of materials and men difficult, so Josefina made it her mission to improve upon both these deficiencies, while at the same time, consolidating both military and administrative powers through her office as needed, so if another disaster was to befall Cyprus, the kingdom would be prepared and better able to deal with its ensuing consequences.
But Josefina Agneta was about to make a decision in early 1665 which would have consequences of its own.
M
or watching Lord Durham's copies of Behind the Green Door and Debbie Does Dallas, but I am glad to see that wasn't the case... lol... hopefully we will have some more of your own fine work to read soon.... 
