List of famines: Difference between revisions

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Revision as of 16:26, 8 August 2007

This is an incomplete list of major famines, ordered by date.

A complete list will almost certainly never become available.

5th century BC

440 BC famine in Ancient Rome.

2th century BC

Researchers in the 1930s discovered documentary evidence that between 108 BC and 1911 AD there were no fewer than 1828 major famines in China, or one nearly every year in one or another province, which however varied greatly in severity

5th century AD

Famine in Western Europe associated with the Fall of Rome and its sack by Alaric I. Between 400 and 800 AD, the population of the city of Rome fell by over 90%, largely because of famine and plague. See Medieval demography.

7th century AD

639 AD - Famine in Arabia during the Caliphate of `Umar ibn Al-Khattab
650 Famine throughout India

9th century AD

800-1000 AD, unrelenting drought killed millions of Maya people with famine and thirst and initiated a cascade of internal collapses that destroyed their civilization
809 famine in Frankish Empire

10th century AD

927 famine in Byzantine Empire

11th century AD

1005 Famine in England
1016 Famine throughout Europe
1022,1033 Great famines in India, in which entire provinces were depopulated
1064-1072 Seven years' famine in Egypt
1051 famine forced the Toltecs to migrate from a stricken region in what is now central Mexico
1066 famine in England

13th century

1199-1202 famine in Egypt
1231-1232 famine in Japan
1235 famine in England. 20,000 die in London, alone
1255 famine in Portugal
1258 famine in Germany and Italy
1294 famine in England

14th century

1315-1317 Great Famine in Europe
1333 famine in Portugal
1333-1334 famine in Spain
1333-1337 famine in China
1344-1345 Great famine in India
1396-1407 The Durga Devi famine in India, lasting twelve years

15th century

1445 famine in Korea
1450-1454 famine in Aztec Empire
1460–1461 Kansho famine in Japan

16th century

1504 famine in Spain
1518 famine in Venice
1555 famine in England
1567-1570 famine in Harar in Ethiopia, combined with plague. Emir of Harar, died.
1574-1576 famine in Istanbul and Anatolia
1586 famine in England which gave rise to the Poor Law system
1590s famines in Europe

17th century

1599-1600 famine in Spain
1600 famine and plague in Russia killed 500,000 people
1601-1603 worst famine in all of Russian history; up to one-third of Tsar Boris's subjects perished
1611 famine in Anatolia
1618-1648 famines in Europe caused by Thirty Years' War
1630-1631 Deccan famine in India kills 2,000,000 (Note: There was a corresponding famine in northwestern China, eventually causing the Ming dynasty to collapse in 1644.)
1636 famine in Spain
1651-1653 famine throughout much of Ireland during the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland
1655-1660 Poland lost an estimated 1/3 of its population due to the wars, famine, and plague
1661 famine in India, when not a drop of rain fell for two years
1661-1662 famine in Morocco
1669 famine in Bengal
1680s famine in Sahel
1693-1694 famine in France which killed 2 million people
1695-1697 famine killed about a fifth of Estonian population (70 000–75 000 people). Famine also hit Sweden (80 000–100 000 dead)
1696-1697 famine in Finland wiped out almost a third of the population

18th century

1702-1704 famine in Deccan, India, killed 2 million people
1706-1707 famine in France
1708-1711 famine in East Prussia killed 250,000 people or forty-one percent of its population
1709-1710 famine in France
1740-1741 famine in Ireland
1732 famine in Japan
1738-1739 famine in France
1738-1756 famine in West Africa, half the population of Timbuktu died of starvation
1741 famine in Norway
1750 famine in Spain
1769-1773 Bengal famine of 1770
1770-1771 famine in Czech lands killed hundreds of thousands people
1771-1772 famine in Saxony and southern Germany
1773 famine in Sweden
1783 famine in Iceland caused by Laki (volcano) eruption
1784-1785 famine in Tunisia killed up to one-fifth of all Tunisians

19th century

1811-1812 famine devastated Madrid, taking nearly 20,000 lives
1816-1817 famine in Europe (Year Without a Summer)
1830 famine killed almost half the population of Cape Verde
1830s Tenpo famine (Japan)
1835 famine in Egypt killed 200,000
1845-1849 Great Irish Famine
1846-1857 Highland Potato Famine in Scotland
1866 famine in India (Bengal and Orissa); one million perished
1866-1868 Famine in Finland. About 15% of the entire population died
1869 famine in Rajputana; one million and a half perished
1870-1871 famine in Persia is believed to have caused the death of 2 million persons
1873-1874 famine in Anatolia
1879 Famine in Ireland
1876-1879 Famine in India, China, Brazil, Northern Africa (and other countries). Famine in northern China killed 10 million people
1888 famine in Sudan
1888-1892 Ethiopian Great famine. Conditions worsen with cholera outbreaks (1889-92), a typhus epidemic, and a major smallpox epidemic (1889-90).
1891-1892 famine in Russia caused 375,000 to 400,000 deaths
1896-1897 famine in northern China
1896-1902 famine in India

20th century

1914-1918 Mount Lebanon famine during World War I which killed over a third of the population
1914-1918 famine in Belgium
1917-1919 famine in Persia. As much as a quarter of the population living in the north of Iran dies in a famine
1921 famine in Russia
1921-1922 Famine in Tatarstan
1928-1929 famine in northern China. The drought resulted in 3 million deaths
1928-1929 famine in Ruanda-Burundi, causing large migrations to the Congo
1933 famine in Ukraine (Holodomor), other parts of Russia, Kazakhstan and Caucasus area
1941-44 Leningrad famine caused by a 900-day blockade by Nazi and Finnish troops. About one million Leningrad residents starved, froze, or were bombed to death in the winter of 1941-42, when supply routes to the city were cut off and temperatures dropped to -40 degrees.
1941-1942 famine in Greece caused by Nazi occupation
1943 famine in Bengal
1943 famine in Ruanda-Urundi, causing migrations to the Congo
1944 famine in the Netherlands during World War II, more than 20,000 deaths
1945 famine in Vietnam
1959-1961 Great Leap Forward / The Great Chinese Famine (China). The official statistic is 20 million deaths, as given by Hu Yaobang
1968-1972 Sahel drought
1973 famine in Ethiopia; failure of the government to handle this crisis led to fall of Haile Selassie and to Derg rule
1974 famine in Bangladesh
1984 famine in Ethiopia
1996 North Korean famine [1] [2]
famine in Sudan caused by war and drought
famine in Zimbabwe

21st century

Droughts which have not yet become famines

2003- famine in Sudan/Darfur (Darfur conflict)
2005 Malawi food crisis
2005-06 Niger food crisis
2006 Horn of Africa food crisis

References

@@ Line 10: / Line 10: @@
 == 5th century BC ==
 *[[440 BC]] famine in [[Ancient Rome]].
+== 2th century BC ==
+* Researchers in the 1930s discovered documentary evidence that between 108 BC and 1911 AD there were no fewer than 1828 major famines in [[China]], or one nearly every year in one or another province, which however varied greatly in severity
 == 5th century AD ==
@@ Line 111: / Line 114: @@
 *1845-1849 [[Great Irish Famine]]
 *1846-1857 [[Highland Potato Famine (1846 - 1857)|Highland Potato Famine]] in [[Scotland]]
-*1866 famine in India ([[Bengal]] and [[Orissa]])
+*1866 famine in India ([[Bengal]] and [[Orissa]]); one million perished
 *[[Finnish famine of 1866-1868|1866-1868 Famine in Finland]]. About 15% of the entire population died
-*1869 famine in [[Rajputana]]; one million and a half perished.
+*1869 famine in [[Rajputana]]; one million and a half perished
 *1870-1871 famine in [[Persia]] is believed to have caused the death of 2 million persons
 *1873-1874 famine in [[Anatolia]]
 *[[Irish Famine (1879)|1879 Famine in Ireland]]
 *1876-1879 Famine in India, China, [[Brazil]], Northern Africa (and other countries). Famine in northern China killed 10 million people
 *1888 famine in Sudan
 *1888-1892 Ethiopian Great famine. Conditions worsen with cholera outbreaks (1889-92), a typhus epidemic, and a major smallpox epidemic (1889-90).
-*1891-1892 famine in Russia
+*1891-1892 famine in Russia caused 375,000 to 400,000 deaths
 *1896-1897 famine in northern China
 *1896-1902 famine in India
@@ Line 127: / Line 130: @@
 *1914-1918 [[Mount Lebanon]] famine during [[World War I]] which killed over a third of the population
 *1914-1918 famine in Belgium
-*1917-1919 famine in [[Persia]]. As much as a quarter of the population living in the north of Iran dies in a famine
+*1917-1919 famine in [[Iran|Persia]]. As much as a quarter of the population living in the north of Iran dies in a famine
 *[[Russian famine of 1921|1921 famine in Russia]]
 *[[1921-1922 Famine in Tatarstan]]
-*1928-1929 famine in northern China
+*1928-1929 famine in northern China. The [[drought]] resulted in 3 million deaths
 *1928-1929 famine in Ruanda-Burundi, causing large migrations to the Congo
 *1933 famine in [[Ukraine]] ([[Holodomor]]), other parts of Russia, [[Kazakhstan]] and [[Caucasus]] area
@@ Line 139: / Line 142: @@
 *[[Dutch famine of 1944|1944 famine in the Netherlands]] during [[World War II]], more than 20,000 deaths
 *[[Vietnamese Famine of 1945|1945 famine in Vietnam]]
-*1959-1961 [[Great Leap Forward]] / [[Three Years of Natural Disasters]] (China).
+*1959-1961 [[Great Leap Forward]] / [[The Great Chinese Famine]] (China). The official statistic is 20 million deaths, as given by [[Hu Yaobang]]
 *1968-1972 [[Sahel drought]]
-*1973 [[Famines in Ethiopia|famine in Ethiopia]]; failure of the government to handle this crisis led to fall of [[Haile Selassie]] and to [[Derg]] rule.
+*1973 [[Famines in Ethiopia|famine in Ethiopia]]; failure of the government to handle this crisis led to fall of [[Haile Selassie]] and to [[Derg]] rule
 *1974 [[Bangladesh famine of 1974|famine in Bangladesh]]
 *[[1984 - 1985 famine in Ethiopia|1984 famine in Ethiopia]]

Revision as of 16:26, 8 August 2007

5th century BC

2th century BC

5th century AD

7th century AD

9th century AD

10th century AD

11th century AD

13th century

14th century

15th century

16th century

17th century

18th century

19th century

20th century

21st century

Droughts which have not yet become famines

See also

References