1. Little Ice Age – Big Problems Ernesto Medina Reyes History 141 – Section 71154

3. Extreme winters including the rapid advance of glaciers all over the globe

4. Very volatile climatic shift with no predictability – 2 feet of snow fell on New England in June and July

5. Believed to be part of a climatic cycle of the Earth

7. Based on estimates using sediment samples from the ocean floor

8. Lasted from the 14th to 19th centuries.

9. Immediately following the “Medieval Warming Period” also called the “Little Climate Optimum” when Europe experienced temperatures approximately 4-7 degrees warmer than the dark ages and, as a result, were enjoying one of their most profitable periods.

10. 1315 – weather started to shift and rains in Europe lasted for 5 years

12. Millions perished from famine and disease

13. Bubonic plague rampaged the vulnerable weak and starving European nations killing 25 million people by 1351 – 1/3 of the world’s population

14. There were 111 famines in France alone between the years of 1371 and 1791

15. Revolutionized agriculture in Europe

16. France had relied on cereal grains as a main staple of their diet but they were an easy target during rains and freezes since the grain itself is at the end of a high stalk

18. French Revolution:

19. Starving peasants rioted against the government and had human rights drafted and granted within 3 weeks.

20. Napoleons Invasion of Russia:

21. 130,000 soldiers trying to return home slowly died of exhaustion, starvation and freezing temperatures. Only 40,000 made it to the small city of Vilnius and of those, only about 4,000 left destroying Napoleons’ reputation as an invincible ruler.

22. Spanish Armada’s Invasion of England:

23. 21,000 Spaniards were killed in the English channel during their attempted retreat.

24. American Revolution: