Great Cataclysm

The Great Cataclysm is the destruction caused by the Guardian in Britannia prior to Ultima IX. The Cataclysm is without doubt the most destructive event in the history of Britannia, destroying much of the landmass of the world as a result, as seen on the right (all red areas are a total loss). Also, many settlements were either destroyed or vastly decimated, leaving the land as a shadow of its former self.

The destruction is as follows:


 * The entire eastern part of the main continent -east from an line going south from Lost Hope Bay and through Lock Lake- got lost, destroying the Dry Lands, Bloody Plains, Minoc, Cove and Vesper in the process.


 * The western part of the continent got further split in two, a northern and a southern part, destroying the Fens of the Dead and Spiritwood in the process.


 * The city of Trinsic got flooded, destroying it.


 * A huge volcaninc erruption destroyed all but one of the Valorian Isles and with it the city of Jhelom.


 * The isles of the Cape of Heroes were all sunk into the sea.


 * Paws got flooded by a swamp, practically making it uninhabitable.


 * The whole southern part of the Isle of the Avatar got destroyed.


 * The western part of Terfin sank, Buccaneer's Den and New Magincia were split in two, severly damaging the cities.


 * The Isle of Deeds was hit by a big wave, causing Serpent's Hold to fall into the sea. At the same time, Empath Abbey and the Lycaeum were destroyed.

Reconstruction
After the end of the cataclysm, Britannia was barely alive and the reconstruction was unable to return the land to its former glory after such huge losses, resulting in the remaining cities becoming shadows of their former selves. The loss of such big potions of the main continent pretty much ensured that Britannia will either take centuries to recover, or will never recover at all.

Trivia

 * The plan to have destruction raging Britannia had been in the development from the very start. However, es seen on this screen, the original plan, as glimpsed on the development screen, had been much less radical. While the continent is split in two, the only real destruction seem to be the loss of the Dry Lands and the volcano of Valoria.


 * The change in scope of destruction seems to be related with switching to a full 3D engine, since it meant the world had to be shrinked.