Just Finished Reading: Nature’s Mutiny – How the Little Ice Age Transformed the West and Shaped the Present by Philipp Blom (FP: 2017) [284pp] 

Around the middle of the 17th century things were obviously wrong. The summer became more overcast and wet, whilst the winters became increasingly colder and often extended far into what used to called spring. The gradual cooling the whole world was experiencing was having real, indeed potentially fatal effects. With Europe especially an essentially subsistence economy where food was, by and large, both produced and consumed locally a series of poor crops could cause serious famine and this is what exactly began to happen more and more. The initial response was widespread prayers, calls to turn away from sin and processions asking for divine intervention. When these failed to change things – indeed things became progressively worse – other things were tried. Innovations in crop rotation, better use of fertiliser, the expansion of farmland into common areas all increased crop yields but it still wasn’t enough. Looking beyond local agriculture and towards areas less affected by the worsening climate than others, the transport and importation of foodstuffs increased everywhere. But this meant payment in cash, not kind, the writing and enforcement of contracts, increased diplomatic contact, improved ports and roads, more and bigger ships to carry grain and return with goods for sale, the need for more effective taxation schemes, increased military spending to protect what you had, and others wanted, exploration of foreign lands and the return of exotic plants like the potato... With each new coping mechanism put in place to ameliorate the effects of the cold and damp conditions things began to change, indeed everything began to change. The old, almost medieval ways gave way to Mercantilism and eventually Capitalism. Money in the form of hard and then paper currency became much more common. New companies making healthy profits from increased trade needed secure ways to finance their ventures so corporations, stock exchanges and banks emerged to support them. A growing middle class demanded more say in their local politics and began using their newfound wealth to buy their way into the upper echelons of society. Power shifted away from nobles and towards the nouveau riche.         

Although I’ve known about the Little Ice Age for a while, I’d never really realised just how long it lasted – around three HUNDRED years! - nor had I realised exactly what effect it had on Europe and the larger world. By groping towards often local problems of supply and demand (largely for food) without actually understanding what they were dealing with, the great and the good of Europe started an unstoppable cascade of change that, eventually, produced the modern world we live it. This honestly riveting book has changed the way I now look at modern European/world history. Most (to be honest almost all) of the history I’ve read so far barely mentions things like the weather or climate and how such things have lasting impacts on historical events. But looking at the history of that period through the lens of sudden climate change explains a GREAT deal of what was going on then. People didn’t just start exploring the world and changing things around them on a whim. They did it because they really wanted to KNOW where their next meal was coming from and how (if possible) they could make a bit of ready cash on the side. Because the climate downturn extended across generations the changes that were made to cope with the new climate stuck and became the new default socio-economic position. A few bad winters simply wouldn’t have changed that much, but three hundred years of bad weather has a tendency to change how people think about the world – and it did.  

I’m confident that this, even so early in the year, will be one of the best History books of 2024. If you want to get a handle on European history between the 17th – 19th centuries, you could do a LOT worse than start here. Highly recommended and more from this excellent author to come. 

Translated from the German by the author.