Comment #494

The graphics are decent. WoW like really but even less impressive. It is originally I will give it that and looks fun. About time

- Carl on What's that? a wii game? not made by nintendo? OMG!

Tags: hurricanes, storms, st kitts, caribbean, barbados, martinique, guadeloupe, antigua, statia, florida, death toll, canada british fleet, independence

Credit where credit is due, my mom sent this to me and finally got a chance to read it.

In the year of our Lord 1780, the Almighty reminded us of his power by sending a hurricane the likes that the Atlantic and Caribbean have never seen before in recorded memory.

Take this with a grain of salt because they didn't have the tools to measure these things like we do now, but the level of devastation, loss of life cannot and historically relevant impact this played on the world cannot be ignored. We'll get to the historical impact shortly, bear with me.

In 1780, a hurricane formed off the cost of Africa and tore towards across the Atlantic picking up a tremendous amount of strength before hitting, the eye of the storm barely missing Barbados. The level of destruction was unheard of at the time.

After dealing with Barbados, the storm continued to the southern Caribbean hitting St. Lucia, Martinique, Dominica, Guadaloupe, St. Kitts, Statia, Antigua and heading north to Florida, passing directly over Puerto Rico in the process. The eye hit Puerto Rico hard, very very hard. To the point of them naming the storm about 200 years before they started naming storms.

After Florida, it continued north and caused havoc in Canada, I kid you not.

From a Dutch sea-officer who was blown from statia to Martinique in the storm.

From the attorney general of Guadeloupe

This was a hell of a storm.

Apparently, estimates of the death toll from the hurricane range from 22,000 to about 28,500, making it the deadliest hurricane in the recorded history of the Atlantic hurricane basin.

Such a loss of life is incredible, but what about that historical impact I mentioned before? Well, 1780 was around America's war of independence from the British right? Historical records show that the British navy was moored all over the Caribbean preparing for the war, supplies, men, arms you name it. The fleet was crushed by the storm:



In a sense, you could say that America was able to fight back the British because they didn't receive the supplies and reinforcements that they were meant to get because everything was destroyed in the Caribbean. Basically, America is a sovereign nation now due to this massive hurricane.

The more you know.