In AD 536, a giant volcano in Iceland erupted, covering Europe, the Middle East, and parts of Asia in darkness for a year and a half. This led to widespread deaths, starvation, and freezing summer temperatures. The catastrophe was followed by two more eruptions and an epidemic of bubonic plague. The worst times lasted until AD 640, when evidence of increased silver mining points to a revitalized economy. Other catastrophic events include the Black Death and the global influenza pandemic of 1918.
Each nation can point to a few years in its history where a lot of things went wrong, but for the northern hemisphere as a whole it would be hard to top what happened in AD 536. It was a very dark time in human history – literally – as the Europe, the Middle East and parts of Asia have been covered in a blanket of darkness for a year and a half. Starvation, freezing summer temperatures, and widespread deaths were common. The cause of the catastrophe has only recently been discovered. It turns out that a giant volcano in Iceland has blew its top off, spewing black ash across mainland Europe and beyond. The explosion was followed by two more eruptions, in AD 540 and 547. Also in the early 540s, an epidemic of bubonic plague began in Egypt and spread throughout the Eastern Roman Empire. It took decades for the companies to recover.
Worst times:
The Byzantine historian Procopius experienced the annus horribilis of 536 AD, writing that “the sun gave off its light without splendor, like the moon, throughout the year”.
Europe’s darkest decades lasted until AD 640, when evidence of increased silver mining points to a revitalized economy.
The Black Death, which swept through Eurasia in the late 1340s, and the global influenza pandemic of 1918 were also particularly catastrophic events for mankind.
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