On April 11th, 1815, Mount Tambora erupted affecting much of the life on planet Earth. The violent eruption blocked out the sun with ash. Mount Tambora is known as one of the most major volcanic eruptions . It was one of three major eruptions between 1812-1817. Mount Tambora was one of the most powerful explosion, which produced an ash discharge of 100 times more than Mt St Helens.
The dust and ash from the eruption resulted in a cooler climate as the volcanic dust at a high altitude decreased the absorption of solar light leading to lower global temperatures. Since the eruption occurred in the spring, the upcoming crop yields were negatively affected due to the new cooler climate. The eruption, although occurring in southeast Asia, greatly affected Europe. The years 1805-1820 were the coldest for Europeans during the time period dubbed as "The Little Ice Age". After the eruption, Europeans encountered red and yellow snow among other unusual weather. The temperatures in the summer of 1816 were 2.3-4.6 Celsius cooler than previous years. In addition to the rapid climate change, Europe was already facing economic hardship from post war times. The debilitated harvest worsened conditions and the crop yields were extremely low. Food prices drastically increased leaving many citizens famished. Some countries, like German, faced complete crop destruction were little or no crop was produced at all. The agricultural conditions led to disease due to the malnourished population.
The year 1817 became known throughout Europe as "the year of beggars". Suicide rates were high as well as crime. Due to the inadequate nutrition and impoverished living conditions, the Bubonic plague appeared in India and Europe, killing over 25,000 people.
Mt Tambora was a snowball effect which affected the lives of thousands of people. The rash climate change was unexpected and left no time for recovery to prevent the outcoming events.
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I have seen reports that beginning in the spring of 1816, the effects of this volcanic eruption were felt severely in Europe and North America. Some have attributed Mary Shelley's writing of Frankenstein to the gloomy conditions that forced many to stay indoors all summer. Could this be an example of an artist's response to climate change?
ReplyDeleteI would definitely agree that the abrupt climate change in the 1816s influenced many artists including Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. The article also spoke about how the rough economic times and harsh winter conditions influenced Charles Dicken's "A Christmas Story". I am not entirely sure if the intent was an underlying message in their literary work to allude directly to the climate change, however the circumstances definitely did have an influence and the works helped give our future generation a glimpse of what those times were like.
ReplyDeleteI would agree that Shelly's writing could be a response to the climate change by giving us what the artistic world often does, a glimpse into the feelings,emotions, and culture of the time the artist lived in. Art is a window into time that gives an invaluable perspective on the affects such things as society, weather, religion, etc. have on mankind, that statistics and data cannot reveal. Although abstract and creative in nature, art in all of it's forms could definitely address such things as climate change.
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