DID CLIMATE CHANGE BRING ABOUT A GENERAL CRISIS IN Essays

DID CLIMATE CHANGE BRING ABOUT A GENERAL CRISIS IN EUROPE DURING THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY? When the debate of Europe's general crisis was at its height in the 1950's, scholars were generally divided into considering the crisis to be either political or economic in nature, with discussion of the social impact heard on either side. However, recent evidence uncovered though scientific innovations in climatology have suggested that natural phenomena and global climate trends negatively impacted large areas of Europe, and Geoffrey Parker has put forward an argument that the crisis of the seventeenth century can be attributed to climate change. Whilst Parker criticises earlier contributors to the crisis debate for neglecting climate in their arguments, it is important not to consider climate as wholly outside the realm of the traditional economic or political crises, as often climactic factors acted as the precursor to such problems, or in some cases exacerbating existing troubles. Therefore, rather than revising existing theories, evidence of climate change is best used to revi sit these existing works and build upon them from an ecological perspective. Prior to being able to determine the extent to which climatic change contributed a crisis in the period, we must consider which trends are detectable. In terms of natural climate oscillation, the crisis coincides with the peak of the Little Ice Age' - a period of decreased solar activity that saw global temperatures reduce by around 0.5C, and with European surface temperatures displaying a more drastic decline of 1C from collated averages. Whilst the dates of the period as a whole are contested, it is generally agreed upon that the coldest period falls exclusively within the 17th Century, and during this time extreme winters were noticeably more frequent. An absence of sunspots noted by both contemporary astronomers and modern climatologists during a period known as Maunder Minimum' indicates decreased solar activity that can be linked to the lower surface temperatures recorded during the period, and a spike in volcanic eruptions in the mid-century (with 12 major eruptions recorded a round the Pacific in 1638-1644) caused sulphur dioxide and volcanic ash to be ejected into the atmosphere, which is thought to have interfered with the natural path of solar radiation. In addition to colder temperatures across Europe, dendrochronological evidence uncovered through the study of tree rings indicates an usually high level of precipitation throughout most of the century. The emergence of these scientific findings has reignited debate surrounding the seventeenth century crisis in Europe, as historians have attempted to demonstrate how such natural events can be seen to in someway cause disorder and downturn across the continent. It is easy to identify the direct impact such climatic trends had on crop yield across Europe - lower temperatures made growing seasons drastically shorter in almost all European states, and increased precipitation ruined consecutive harvests, as seen in Ireland when 3 failed harvests preceded the 1641 rebellion. The Irish case is significant in consideration of a climate crisis, as it not only demonstrates how climate change directly caused a crisis of subsistence, but also indirectly influenced the economic and political unrest with which traditionalists generally associate the period. It should also be considered that whilst global in nature, climate change may have had an individualistic psychological effect on populations - Fruwirth and Sogner collated evidence from research that weather has a direct impact on productivity, and argue that weather we associate as bad', most notably cold and rain, negatively affects mood and in turn our productivity and obedience. Their theory appears entirely plausible when corroborated with contemporary narratives of the time, such as narrative accounts from Madrid throughout the 1640's that commented on how the torrential rain contributed to attitudes of pessimism that spiralled into violent outbursts against the government. We are therefore able to view climate change not only as a direct cause of crisis in the seventeenth century, but also as a factor in the economic and political instabilities that ravaged Europe during this time. Eric Hobsbawm puts forward his interpretation of an economic crisis that stemmed from a crisis of commerce that saw a Keynesian demand depression act as a catalyst for rising prices that had far reaching social implications. He pays particular attention to discussion of