Natural disasters have changed the course of human history. Although not everyone agrees about the impact, the link between the natural events and the socio-economic changes is amazing. Of course, natural disasters have become part of the dynamics of the planet since the beginning and all of it has had an impact that has affected until now. Here is a past catastrophic event that impacted and then changed the course of our history:
- Kuwae eruption (1452-1453)
Kuwae is a volcano and undersea caldera in Vanuatu located in one of the most active volcano areas in the world. There are many undersea eruptions there. Sometimes, the eruption broke through the sea surface leaving behind the marks of small islands that slowly sank back into the sea. For example eruption 1901 which leaves traces of the island as long as 1 kilometer with a width of 15 meters and then sinks again 6 months later.
The gigantic explosion in 1452-1453 destroyed the island of Kuwae and left two smaller islands named Tongoa and Epi, separated by a caldera of 12x 6 square kilometers between the two. The caldera often experiences volcanic activity. The eruption released about 39 cubic kilometers of ash and the island collapsed up to 1,100 meters below sea level.
The eruption has been one of the largest volcanic events of the past 10,000 years, six times more devastating than the volcanic eruption of Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines in 1991. The eruption has to do with the second pulse of the Small Ice Age and is felt throughout the world as climate cooling. This is indicated through the appearance of tree ring rings, Greenland ice holes (Greenland), and a number of crop failures recorded in history.
Historical authors of the Ming Dynasty mentioned the date of the incident in particular by writing "endless snows that destroy the harvest." A few moments later, as the ash was blocking the sun, they wrote of "Snow as high as several feet that fell in 6 provinces. Tens of thousands of people were frozen to death."
After that there is another reference to the long period of snowfall, frozen sea, and people who died of hunger and cold. But the greatest victim was the fall of the Byzantine Empire with the annexation of Constantinople. Under the leadership of Sultan Mehmed II, the Ottoman Turks invaded Constantinople on 5 April 1453 and occupied it on May 29, 1453.
The historical record of the city at that time mentions the severe impact of volcanic eruptions, including the heavy fog of May that never existed before, the violent torrential rains, the red sky of blood during the day, and the flood. People outside the city suspect the city is on fire. According to the historian, "A flame enveloped Hagia Sophia and its lightning bolts could be seen from the walls, glittering from afar at the outskirts of the city behind the Turkish camp (in the west)."
But it's actually a reflection of a dense red cloud of dust in the atmosphere. The siege may be postponed if the harvest is successful before the invaders arrive.
The failure of the harvest due to volcanic ash causes the siege to last only a few weeks, not necessarily for months. It led to the destruction of the Byzantine Empire thus allowing the Ottoman Empire to flourish. Just because an island is now lost in the Pacific Ocean, the fugitives of Constantinople include writers, musicians, astronomers, architects, artists, philosophers, scientists, politicians, theologians and others brought to Western Europe to perpetuate and transmit knowledge Of their civilization.
- Lisbon Earthquake (1755)
The Lisbon earthquake and tsunami are one of the largest earthquakes that occur, allegedly at magnitude of 9 according to the magnitude of the earthquake - almost equivalent to the Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami in 2004. The 1755 earthquake could have destroyed Lisbon with the death toll of about 100,000 people. Appears fissures as wide as 5 meters in the city. Survivors immediately rushed to a relatively open port area, but a sudden 30-meter tsunami came.
The earthquake was felt to the Greenland’s, Finland, the Caribbean region, and North Africa. Meanwhile, a 20-meter-high tsunami hit North Africa destroying Barbados and Martinique. Waves as high as 3 meters reach Cornwall, England. The cultural impact of that event brought about change over the next few centuries. The incident preceded the discussion of intellectuals of that era in terms of a fundamental understanding of the world and our knowledge.
The Age of Enlightenment is directly related to the events of November 1, 1755, the Feast of All Saints, much less because the disaster destroyed almost all religious buildings and churches in Lisbon and Portugal.
That incident caused mass confusion about the God who was considered dropping the reinforcement to a people who are obedient to Roman Catholicism. The philosophers debated it with the clergy. The earthquake also had disastrous effects on the Portuguese economy. In just an instant, the quake destroyed their power as the ruler of the oceans, thus claiming 45 percent of Royal GDP.
Voltaire used the poem "Poem sur le desastre de Lisbonne," and some parts of Candide to attack the "Know-it-Lord" philosophy of the time which forbade people to question issues of belief. Beginning the fight against religious indoctrination blindly, leading to a more logical question of why we obey what we do. It opens the way to scientific methods that require evidence for our physical reality. Immanuel Kant, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and many other scholars were inspired by the earthquake and brought us to the cultural, political, ideological and industrial revolution in Europe. The disaster is also the most important point in the science of seismology and why the Earth reacts that way. That explanation is the main source of trust and acceptance.
The disaster also raises ideas such as freedom, progress, tolerance, brotherhood, constitutional government, and the separation of religion from the state. Present the phrase by Sapere, "Dare to know." The intellectual and philosophical notion of reason is the direct and indirect result of the great earthquake that shook our civilization just as it has shaken Lisbon.
- Laki eruption (1783-1784)
The 25 kilometer long Laki volcano in Iceland has 130 volcanic chimneys. The eruption occurred at the fault in 1783 - 1784 with the power of 6 VEI. Approximately 14 cubic kilometers of basal lava was vomited at that time, along with a toxic cloud made of a mixture of sulfur dioxide and hydrochloric acid that spread throughout the world. The clouds cause acid rain in most of Europe and dust around the world that block out sunlight thereby lowering the temperature globally. As a result, hunger, disease, and death are present everywhere. The disaster happened only a few years after the disaster in Lisbon.
The impact in Iceland is the death of 25 percent of the population there, 50 percent of livestock, and almost all the harvest that year. The flow of the lava pylon from the eruption could reach a height of 1,400 meters into the air - about 5 times a Hawaiian lava pole. In addition, the eruption also releases about 8 million tons of hydrogen fluoride and 120 million tons of sulfur dioxide throughout Europe. The burst was later dubbed "Laki mist".
The gas and dust weakened the monsoon in Africa and India and brought the death of one-sixth of the Egyptians during the famine of 1784. Harvesting across Europe was a failure. Sulfur dioxide in the air also causes respiratory illnesses that bring about 23,000 deaths in the UK. In America, the most violent and longest winter ever recorded has delayed the cessation of the American Revolutionary War because Congress members are late coming to Annapolis to vote on the Paris Treaty.
Hunger and disease spread throughout Europe, and the recovery was only about a decade later. When told that his people were starving and had no food, Marie Antoinette allegedly said her famous saying, "Qu'ils mangent de la brioche" - let them eat the cake. France was battered after the Seven Years War. Then, the American Civil War caused them to fall into deep debt. Raise social unrest and unpopular tax initiatives.
The hunger of Laki's eruption, together with the unpopular taxes and the effects of the Enlightenment, became the driving force behind the French Revolution. One of the most important events in human history is partly due to the volcanic disaster in Iceland. The disaster triggered a diminished global absolute monarchy and replaced it with a liberal republic and democracy.
It is also an inspiration for liberal and radical ideas that lead to pressure on the feudal system, individual emancipation, and greater division of land, the abolition of the privileges of the noble arts, and the birth of equality. In the end, it all leads to the spread of liberalism, radicalism, nationalism, socialism, capitalism, feminism, and secularism.
- Mount Tambora eruption (1815)
The eruption of Mount Tambora in 1815 was the greatest eruption in modern history, with VEI level 7. The enormous impact was felt throughout the world, such as the existence of "years without summer." The eruption also became the last beat in the Small Ice Age, characterized by increased volcanism, reduced solar activity, and reduced human interaction with climate. There are 3 important beats during that time. The eruption of Kuwae became the 2nd to increase climate instability. From 1808 to 1815, there were several volcanic eruptions and Tambora eruptions being the strongest.
There was a mysterious eruption of 6 VEI in 1808 - 1809, then La Soufriere (Saint Vincent) in 1812, the eruption of Mount Awu (Indonesia) in 1812, Suwanosejima eruption (Japan) in 1813 and the eruption of Mayon Volcano (Philippines) in 1814. , The 1810s decade became the coldest for the last 500 years. Tambora's ash cloud bursts out the sun's radiation so that the climate froze and thwarted the harvest as recorded in Europe, and China. Prices have increased fourfold from the previous year, causing riots and chaos across Europe. Unusual storms, floods, and necks also hit many parts of the world.
The impact is deeply felt in Europe, resulting in many policies and social rights thereafter. A few years after the disaster, there was a tremendous increase in typhoid and cholera in Europe and India. Culturally, JMW Turner's paintings depict the red sky as a magnificent view of sunset. Lack of fodder may trigger Karl Drais to create velocipede which became the forerunner of mechanical transport equipment.
The eruptions may also have triggered settlements in the heartland of America. The settlers moved from New England because of a failed harvest. It may also be the original cause of the anti-slavery movement. Mineral fertilizers are created as a direct result of hunger around the world. Justus Freiherr von Liebig, a German chemist, recalls his hungry childhood. He became known as the "father of modern fertilizer."