The 1868 Arica earthquake and the Señor de los Milagros tradition

Record summary

The 1868 Arica earthquake and tsunami generated extensive religious interpretation across Peru, where crucifix and Christ devotions, including the Señor de los Milagros tradition, supplied language for catastrophe, survival and penitence. The episode is valuable for comparing disaster testimony with miracle attribution and devotional procession culture. It should not be reduced to one supernatural report: Arica’s destruction, tsunami observations, relief narratives and Lima’s established image cult are separate documentary subjects. Newspapers, scientific accounts and ecclesiastical records can help identify what was claimed contemporaneously.