2. The Unknown Causes of The Little Ice Age
The little ice age was a period when the climate dipped by 4 degrees through the 14 th and
19th century. Scientists do not know the cause for the little ice age. However there are very
many different theories that it was because the suns radiation was not penetrating the
earth because of sun spots. Other scientists believe it is because of the weak ocean
conveyer belt that began flowing toward the glaciers because the water was losing its
salinity due to the fresh water causing it to be more dense. The BBC article shows that
scientists saw the fluctuations in carbon dioxide by looking at pollen and leaf sediment.
One of the more obvious evidences is that within that time frame 5 volcano eruptions
occurred by far the largest eruption by Krakatoa which caused the sky to fill with ash and
sulfuric acid which today scientists have found in polar ice caps. The results of the little ice
age effected mankind’s survival during that time period; history was shaped by the little
ice age. This “Little ice age with a big chill” helps us better prepare ourselves in case
history should repeat itself.
3. The Chilly Effects on History
Winters were extremely cold, and because the majority of people depended on
their crops which were mainly grains and cereals they did not withstand the heavy
rain fall and ice cold winters. Their plantations diminished. Many had formed poor
nutrition and died from diseases such as the bubonic plague and from starvation.
The chaos was blamed on witches and many were burned at the stake, the Catholic
Church advocated this needing someone to blame. Trade was impossible to achieve
because the shores were filled with thick ice. It is noted in the documentary that
people could walk across from Manhattan to Brooklyn in New York that is how thick
the ice was. The little ice age however aided in many historic warfare and
inventions. Grapevines froze and wine could not be produces in northern Italy.
Therefore beer, hard liquor, and whiskey compensated and till today it remains the
primary drinks instead of wine.
4. Creativity From Misery
The French Revolution was etched by the little ice age as well as victories and defeats in ware
fare as it was with the Spanish whose ships froze in the crossings in the war with England.
The ice age at the same time aided George Washington win Independence, and it pushed
them to travel further into the America’s. The little ice age also taught them to eat things
they normally would not such as the potato which was brought over by the Spanish and was
not effects by fire, rain, or ice. The potato was a consistent food, but many Europeans
considered it the devils food, and the French for example refused to eat it while the Irish
planted the easiest cultivated potato’s but those type were very susceptible to disease, and
thus the Irish potato famine struck and killed millions. The mudroom minimum which was
the coldest time began one year before the birth of Stradivarius, and it is believed that
because the tree rings were so thin in the Italian cold Alps, that is probably why his Violin has
the most sweetest resonant sound produced due to the cold that effect the wood during
that time. The writer Mary Shelly wrote the book Frankenstein because she was inspired by
the weather.
5. Works Cited
• Little Ice Age: Big Chill- Documentary Film
• Ravilious Kate, Europe's chill linked to disease-BBC
Article
