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Today's speedy dissemination of information may give us the illusion that our world is going through the worst of times. But in fact, history shows us this is not the case—we are actually living in one of the best periods in history when it comes to violence, natural disasters, and diseases. Indeed, the COVID-19 pandemic brought the world to a halt and war rages on in many places, but the truth is there have been much worse years to be alive.
In this gallery, we travel back in history and bring you what were arguably the darkest years in the entire history of humankind. Click on to find out.
There is a theory that a supervolcanic eruption known as the Toba catastrophe took place in present-day Lake Toba in Sumatra, Indonesia. The disaster is said to have cooled down the entire planet for years, and nearly wiped out the entire human species.
The year of 536 is often quoted as the worst in history. Why? A massive volcanic eruption (supposedly in Iceland) brought low temperatures and darkness across Europe, the Middle East, and some parts of Asia. The lack of sunlight affected crops, leading to hunger. The Roman Empire had just fallen, so things were indeed pretty chaotic.
It’s estimated that around 25-50 million people died between 541 and 542. This was roughly a quarter of the world’s population at the time. The reason? The Justinian plague.
The Justinian plague was brutally devastating. And many of those who weren’t killed by it, eventually died of hunger, as the grain prices spiked massively due to the plague.
Indeed, 14th-century Europe was not an easy time to be alive. The harvests had failed in 1315, and the same thing happened again in 1316. The result was widespread starvation. It was not until the summer of 1317 that the weather allowed for crops to grow. The event became known as the Great Famine of 1315–1317.
In 1492, Columbus and his crew brought diseases to the New World, so millions died since the Europeans set foot on the American continent. By the 16th century, the vast majority of the indigenous population had been killed.
Back in Europe, the Spaniards conquered Granada from the Moors and went on to kill, enslave, or kick out around 500,000 Muslims from the country.
In 1520, the Spanish conquistadors brought even more disease and death to the native peoples of the Americas. It’s estimated that, in just a year, between 60-90% of the local population was wiped out after contracting smallpox.
This was the year of a key event, which became known as the Sack of Antwerp, which took place in the then-Spanish Netherlands. This was essentially a three-day massacre, where about 7,000 people died.
The revolt was conducted by Spanish soldiers who hadn’t been paid by the king for their services. This event had repercussions in the economy across Europe.
Another volcanic eruption, this time in Peru, brought famine to Russia. How? It caused a volcanic winter, which brought about record-breaking cold temperatures and crop disruption worldwide. It’s estimated that around two million people starved to death in Russia. This means that roughly one in three Russians died of hunger in 1601.
According to records, in this year alone, 127,000 people were buried in a mass grave in Moscow. The eruption also affected harvests in other European and Asian countries, but Russia was hit the hardest.
The year of 1783 marks the eruption of the Laki volcanic fissure in Iceland. The event was so huge that its ash and gases affected the climate around the world. A great part of the Northern Hemisphere didn’t have a summer that year.
But the worst impact was in Africa and India, where monsoons were affected and it didn’t rain as it should, causing severe droughts. This resulted in famine across the Indian subcontinent and other locations. It’s estimated that 11 million people starved to death during the Chalisa famine.
In April 1816, the stratovolcano Mount Tambora in Indonesia erupted, bringing apocalyptic darkness and coldness across the world. It was so bad that 1816 became known as “the year without a summer.” Temperatures plummeted so much that it snowed in June in both North America and Europe. This, of course, led to failed crops and, consequently, hunger.
Yes, 1848 became known as the Year of Revolution across Europe, but it was also the year where violence didn’t stop for 12 months and countless people died of hunger. This year was the height of the Irish Great Famine, too.
Europe was at peace when 1914 began, but things went south pretty quickly. The First World War broke out in July and marked the beginning of modern warfare. From weapons to tactics, WWI was an unprecedented bloody event, leading to millions of deaths.
The good news is that the First World War ended in November 1919. The bad news is that the Russian Civil War was in full swing, Prohibition was introduced in America, and the deadliest event of them all, the Spanish flu that had started in 1918, killed millions in its second year.
The Great Depression saw one in four Americans losing their job. It had been four years after the Wall Street Crash of 1929, and about 15 million people were unemployed.
In Europe, things didn’t look promising either. The Enabling Act of 1933 was passed in Germany, and the party gained dictatorial powers. This led to the opening of the first concentration camp at Dachau, among other measures.
This was possibly the worst year of World War II, with battles and the Holocaust at their peak. In the first half of the year alone, an estimated 1.2 million Jews had already been deported, many of them sent to concentration camps.
Britain also brought a lot more food from its Indian colonies, leading to starvation in the Bengal province, where around three million people died of hunger.
Meanwhile, racial tensions were high in the US, as black Americans were drafted to fight for freedom abroad, when they didn’t have similar rights at home. They also faced segregation in the military.
The year WWII ended was also one of the worst years to be alive. In August 1945, the US dropped two atomic bombs on Japan, killing thousands. Meanwhile, the genocide of Jewish people was still going strong. It’s believed that between 70 and 85 million people lost their lives during the conflict.
In 1968, America experienced the assassinations of Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. Civil unrest was spreading across the country and the Vietnam War was in full swing, with the Tet Offensive leading to heavy losses in US forces.
Things were not much better across the pond. The Prague Spring came to an end under the heavy hand of Soviet troops.
The student demonstrations, strikes, protests, and occupations known as May 68 in France led to social change, but the events didn’t quite have the impact hoped for in the political realm.
The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 killed thousands of people in the US. But the repercussions of the event killed even more people. The "War on Terror" led to the invasions of Afghanistan and then Iraq.
It also had an impact on civil liberties around the world, including changes in aviation security regulations. Indeed, it was a year of uncertainty, fear, and death.
The COVID-19 pandemic killed millions of people and had a profound impact all over the world. While the numbers are quite dramatic, had this pandemic happened few decades ago, the death toll would surely have been a lot higher.
Sources: (History Collection) (Listverse) (History Defined) (TopTenz)
These were the worst years in history to be alive
We have lived through some really dark times
LIFESTYLE History
Today's speedy dissemination of information may give us the illusion that our world is going through the worst of times. But in fact, history shows us this is not the case—we are actually living in one of the best periods in history when it comes to violence, natural disasters, and diseases. Indeed, the COVID-19 pandemic brought the world to a halt and war rages on in many places, but the truth is there have been much worse years to be alive.
In this gallery, we travel back in history and bring you what were arguably the darkest years in the entire history of humankind. Click on to find out.