Great hurricane of 1780

      hurricane ( tropical cyclone) of October 1780, one of the deadliest on record in the Atlantic Ocean. More than 20,000 people were killed as the storm swept through the eastern Caribbean Sea, with the greatest loss of life centred on the Antilles islands of Barbados, Martinique, and Sint Eustatius.

      The hurricane took place before modern tracking of tropical storms began, but historical accounts indicate that the storm started in the Atlantic and on October 10 reached Barbados, where it destroyed nearly all the homes on the island and left few trees standing. Witness reports in Barbados and Saint Lucia claimed that even sturdy stone buildings and forts were completely lost to the wind, with heavy cannons being carried hundreds of feet. The storm traveled northwest across the Antilles, causing destruction throughout the region; on some islands entire towns disappeared. The storm ravaged Martinique, taking an estimated 9,000 lives. On the island of Sint Eustatius an estimated 4,000 to 5,000 people were killed. During this time, European naval forces were concentrated in the Caribbean because of the American Revolution, and both British and French forces sustained particularly large losses, with more than 40 French vessels sunk near Martinique and roughly 4,000 soldiers dead. As the storm continued north, it damaged or sank many other ships that were returning to Europe.

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