Human consequences
About 4,500 deaths in Barbados and thousands in Martinique, including the sailors of a French convoy.
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Hurricane & cycloneGreat Hurricane of 1780
22,000Deaths
Not quantifiedDisplaced / homeless
Not quantifiedEstimated cost
- More than 22,000 deaths according to common estimates: the deadliest Atlantic hurricane on record.
In the middle of the American War of Independence, a hurricane of exceptional violence sweeps over Barbados, then Martinique and Sint Eustatius. British and French ships are scattered or sunk.
Consequences
Environmental consequences
Almost every tree on Barbados is felled; plantations and soils are devastated.
Economic consequences
The islands’ sugar economies, built on slavery, are ruined; famine hits enslaved people especially hard.
Political consequences
The warring powers lose many ships at a key moment of the conflict in the Caribbean.
Further reading
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In the rankings : The deadliest hurricanes and cyclones No. 3
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