Fagan argues that many of the important movements and events of modern Europe --and probably the rest of the world as well--can be traced back to changes in the climate that left the world colder and wetter than it had been in the late medieval ages or than it is today. The late medieval ages, known as the monde plein and called the "Medieval Warm Period" by Fagan, lasting from about 800 to 1300 CE, were fairly warm and conducive to cereal crops throughout Europe. This enabled the age of Viking exploration and raiding and population increases all around Europe, encourage mass migrations of peoples and the great cathedral construction going on. Around 1300--more specifically the winters of 1315 and 1316--the climate turned much colder, leading to massive crop failures. Since the vast majority of peasants lived on a subsistence level, starvation, disease and death remained the norm for quite some time. This marked the beginning of what Fagan calls "The Little Ice Age," a period of extreme fluctuation and climactic extremes that lasted until about 1850. While a few good harvest years might occur, many or most years had lower crop yields. Fagan explains a number of mechanisms for these variations, especially the NAO index or positioning of the normal high pressure/low pressure gradients, the movement of the Gulf Stream which normally warms Europe, and volcanic eruptions reducing the amount of sunlight striking the earth.
Fagan explores a number of historical trends and events that happened in reaction to the little Ice Age. Britain and the Netherlands adopted more efficient agricultural practices that helped ease the burden of famine, if not poverty, in later times. He also traces the development of the Black Death during this time which may have reduced the population of Europe by a half to two-thirds. The British developed a large fishing fleet after the Pope approved the eating of fish during Lent. Consequently, the British gained widespread control of the seas and the Hanseatic League declined precipitously in economic importance. He also discusses the weather underlying the French Revolution and the Irish potato famine in a particularly bitter denunciation of the failure of the British government to relieve the suffering of the Irish. The final chapters close with the possibilities of global warming: "We can only imagine the potential death toll in an era when climactic swings may be faster, more extreme, and completely unpredictable because of human interference."
I really wanted to like this book since it had a lot of important things to say and it presented a lot of information in a new light. But I got the feeling that a lot of it was history channel lite. It covered a lot of information for a long period of time in a short amount of space. The narrative ties together a number of widely disparate events hence reducing the unity of the arguments and explanations. A lot of the narrative is also fairly recursive, repeating information that had been give earlier. So while the book did cover a lot of information, somehow it just wasn't all that satisfying.
Author: Fagan, Brian
Date Published: 2000
Length: 217 pp
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