The Gorkha Earthquake of 1833: Nepal's First Modern Disaster

In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the devastating Gorkha earthquake of 1833, a catastrophe that struck the Kathmandu Valley 102 years before the more famous 1934 quake. They recount how the tremor flattened temples, killed thousands, and left the newly unified Nepal reeling under the shadow of the East India Company. Lucas introduces the British surveyor Francis Buchanan-Hamilton, who documented the damage, and the Gorkhali court's response, including the shaky rule of Rajendra Bikram Shah and the rising influence of Bhimsen Thapa. The conversation weaves in the science of Himalayan seismology, the fragility of brick-and-timber Newar architecture, and the social aftershocks that reshaped the kingdom's capital. Along the way, they discuss the legend of the Kathmandu Valley's lake, the resilience of the Newar people, and how the earthquake exposed the cracks in Nepal's early modern state. This episode offers a fresh lens on a pivotal but often overlooked moment in Nepal's history, revealing how a natural disaster became a political turning point.

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